The House's To Do

I am finally getting around to adding a few new house pictures...but all these pictures make me do is realize what we still need to do....

I'll be taking you on this house tour in spurts... mostly because the whole house is not very clean and the lighting is bad right now and we do not have many blinds or curtains to close over the windows and close out the sun.... so sometime at night I will take some more...

Now lets get started....

Ah kitchen.... my love... Its HUGE. I have tons of space left to fill in the cabinets and drawers... 

To Do:  

1. See how there is only 1 bar stool?  I bought 2 but never noticed until we moved here and I had already built that one that the other one was actually a different color! Remember I got these as a steal from Target, but because its built I cant return it... unless I take it apart... ugg. And they are sold out of additional ones in Black.  Annoying.  I have found them elsewhere, but twice as much... I cant decided if I want to just pay for another or try to hunt around and find completely different ones for the same price.   
2. Backsplash.  I want little tiles... and add in some color... but still keep it light... any ideas? 
3. That half wall below the bar where the stools will be kept... it is getting lots of scuffs from Leah and her little feet on the wall... my cousins wife gave me the great idea of painting it a darker color that I can tie into the backsplash that might hide the scuffs a little more... and our house needs more color in general!  Any ideas on color!?!?

This would be the office... also known as current junk room. That doorway heads to our butler's pantry that currently houses our mini fridge and wine fridge, the pantry, and the kitchen.  See that desk though... my dad found it on craigslist for FREE!! Its a super nice desk that would have been atleast 1000 bucks! Awesome deal! My dad is king of Craigslists deals.   Anyways... back to the room... It is the first room you see when you walk in the front door so we definitely want to make it nice!  

To Do:

1. We were thinking of doing a built in shelves on the back wall.... only about 4 feet tall of so... added storage, would look awesome.... I thought about the whole wall in shelving but Brian pointed out that we wouldnt be able to reach it all.....and I think just half would give us a counter top sort of to work with, and ability to hang stuff on the wall above. 
2. I would also love to do a board and batten to the rest of the room.... I have always loved it and WILL put it in! 
3. I have a set of picture frames to be hung on the right side.... could be a quick fix to the room. 
4. And Oh yeah! We need to finish going thru these last boxes! 

half bath.... 

The mirror in here was my splurge when we moved in... its a pearl mosaic mirror from Peir One. I love it. Brian hated it... and hated it even more when it was time to put it up... its HEAVY but I love it.   However... this room is really long and skinny.... and I just feel like it needs something else. I picked up those flowers the other day at Garden Ridge... but when I put them up they seem itty bitty... maybe another to make it look like a larger peice? 

 Mud room.... Yep those are boxes that need to be collapses and taken to the recycling bin...

 To Do:

1. Mostly Brian just needs to finally hang that bulletin board on the wall already!! Its been 2 months sir! 
2. I have a few other ideas to hang on the walls in this area... Brian really wants a marker board so we can write each other notes... and I was thinking maybe hooks to hang keys and such.... 
3. Once the thing gets hung... i want to get a fun lamp that we can turn on when we leave so when we come home its not pitch black when we walk in and we have to find the light switch...  

Laundry room obviously.... 

To Do:

1. Cabinets over the washer and dryer to hide all that junk... 
2. Backsplash around the sink.  I kind of love backsplashes. I love tile... 
3. Some shelving on the other wall  that you cant see... with a bar to hand clothes and such... 

Well there you have it.... half of the first floor... And already lots still to do... Luckily Brian wants to do most of these things as well... but we will see what gets done when.... he is all about beginning to finish the basement this summer so we will be fighting over the money!

I should be getting a nice bonus in the spring and should be able to do some of these things with it.... I just cannot decide what to do first!!!

Any ideas are welcome!!!

Stay tuned for more!

Let's Review

Yep, its that time of the year...

I cannot even remember what I intended to do this year... but lets go back to THIS post... and cut and paste below...

Career Goals:

·         Get established and comfortable in my new job. I hate feeling so unsure that I am doing things correctly, and needing to rely on others so much. I look forward to working efficiently and knowing that I am doing things correctly!  I think I can check this one off! I actually have moments where I know what I am doing! I even have had meetings with people in other company's and told them they were wrong and I was right! ha! Gotta love that! 

·         Find the perfect work/life balance… hopefully start working from home 2 days a week.  Definitely got this one down too. I usually work from home 2 days a week and it makes a HUGE difference in this momma's life.   I dont always feel like my weekends are filled with cleaning and laundry.  I can actually enjoy my free time with my family. 

·         Pass 1 exam and receive credit for VEE – Finance.  This is totally attainable.  I am not setting myself up for failure.   I do however hope it means passing MLC because I will have MFE already behind me… but either is acceptable.   I passed MFE AND received credit for VEE - Finance!! I find out in 1 week if I passed MLC... there is a slight chance I even passed it! Keep your fingers crossed... but if not, I am totally checking it off the list in May!   

Family Goals:

·         Put our house on the market and hope it sells sometime in 2011.  We are OK if it takes a while… more time to save… but we are ready to begin the move to Rockwood School District! (I won't say Fenton… in case we end up in Wildwood or something… and I am OK with that too.) Ha! This was the drama of 2011.   House went on the market in Feb.  We received an offer May 31st.   Mid July they began construction on our new house. The end of July it fell thru because they couldn't get a loan. (stupid economy).  We considered renting.   Beginning of September my parents offer to buy it from us.  End of September its theirs and we pay my parents rent for 6 weeks.  End of October we moved into the Rockwood School District, although not Fenton, we are 100% happy!  My parents are now renting out our old house and happy as well.  Funny how things work out in the end!

·         Grow even more as a family and enjoy every second as a family of 3! Get more active; enjoy all the FREE and amazing activities St. Louis has to offer, like the Zoo, Science Center, Magic House, Grants Farm, Bike trails, baseball games… Leah will be older and ready to have some fun!!  Well we definitely enjoyed our life as a family this year.   Life with a toddler if definitely alot more fun than life with an infant.   We did hit up the zoo, grants farm, the bike trails (though not enough) Leah's first Cardinals game, and the pool alot.... we hope to make it to the Magic House here in the next few weeks... and now that we live across the highway from a major amusement park (seriously, we can see roller coasters and such from our house) we plan on getting season passes and going for a few hours a week once it opens! 

·         Baby # 2! … and that is all I am going to say about that…. Ideally (you know we have this planned out) baby #2 will not be born until 2012 though… Check, Baby 2 will be here in about 22 weeks! OMG!  Things went almost exactly as planned... Leah and baby will be about 2 years, 6 months, and 2 weeks apart. ha! I told you we are planners. 

Personal:

·         Find a real hobby.  Maybe photography if I ever get my fancy camera. Or learn to sew? Just become more crafty in general… Yep, didnt happen.... instead I spent the past few months without a camera in general. I just got a new point n shoot for christmas (thanks in-laws) but I think I have gotten out of the habit of taking pictures all the time.   Oh and my brother was just gifted an amazing camera out of the blue from his in-laws this Christmas... yes, I am a little jealous... I dont feel horribly bad for not finding a hobbie... I still consider studying a hobby of mine and I had a pretty successful year in my exams.... 

·         Find time to do new hobby. ... I've learned to manage my time better when it comes to studying.... 

·         Not get so stressed out… easier said than done….I think I have done better this year!  When I took my last exam in Nov, I did not freak out nearly as badly as I have in the past!  

Overall I think 2011 in meeting my goals was pretty successful. There were a few bumps in the road... the house drama, losing my Aunt and learning to live without her and my Grandma in my life... 2011 has been pretty good.   

And I know 2012 will be amazing! Looking forward to it...

Most wonderful time of the year

It was all pretty fabulous!

I couldn't have asked for more!

Differences

This pregnancy is just so different.

Its not a bad pregnancy by any way, but its definitely not rainbows and butterflies.

I do not feel the happy, glow, of an expectant mom.

I AM happy and excited about this pregnancy.  

I cant wait to meet our little one.  

I cant wait to see how our life of 4 revolves.

I cant wait to see how Leah steps into her role of Big Sister.

I cant wait to have a 10 lbs baby to carry up and down the stairs rather than my 34 lbs toddler who requests "hold me like baby mommy".

I feel like our new house needs our new baby to get here so it can really feel like home.

But I FEEL so tired and gloomy and grumpy and crabby.

My hormones are out of control.

I feel cranky and irritated all the time.

I have zero patients.

I know its just the crazy effects of pregnancy.

I don't want to be this way...

I hope a switch will change.

I hope these hormones settle a bit.

I want to enjoy these last 5 months as a family of 3 and a slightly less stressful life.

Maybe once I start feeling this baby move my mood will pick up some...

Until then, don't take any attitude I might give you personal.... ITS THE BABY!

Growing

Last night my body ached.

I was nervous that the rest of this pregnancy would feel like this.

I commented to Brian about how rough 2nd pregnancy was feeling.

But this morning I am feeling much better!

And I look much bigger.

Baby must have has a growth spurt and I was doing some major stretching.

B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L

Is this not the most gorgeous picture of the prettiest little girl?   I could look at it forever.

Love her SO. MUCH.

This is going fast!

Time is just getting away from me...

Not to mention it is the busiest time of the year...

And all my free time I have been addicted to reading the Hunger Games. SO GOOD.

Binkie update... Leah has been binkie free for 2.5 weeks! ... she still will talk about her binkie though and how it broke and she said bye bye to it. Its kind of adorable.

I'm already 14 weeks... A little comparison...

With Leah... 

This time around.... in the same shirt of course! 

I am definitely feeling much rounder... last time I had a much more toned stomach to begin with... this time Im much flabbier. 

I think all signs are pointing to me being gigantic this pregnancy... 

A Brother or a Sister

Peoples first comment once I say I am pregnant is "Do you want a boy!?"

Sure, a boy would be very nice!

A boy would give some balance in life.  

A boy would give Brian someone more likely to play video games and someone Brian can pass his HUGE stash of baseball cards too and maybe care about them.

But a girl would be really nice as well.

Not that I already have all the clothes, because they will be in completely different seasons and I doubt I would get the chance to reuse much at all...

But nice because I would love to give Leah a sister.  

I love having a sister.   I love the girl time that my mom and sister are able to have.

I want Leah to experience the same.  

I think the one negative in my sister and I's relationship is that we are 7 years apart.   Alot of the time I mother her more than be there as her friend.  

Leah and this baby will only be 2.5 years apart, 2 years in school... I hope that they will be the best of friends for life!  

I think a girl, and a friendship for life, would be an amazing gift to give Leah.

***

At my first appointment the heart rate as 180.  I thought for sure a girl.  But yesterday the heart rate has dropped to the 160s...

My morning sickness has not been anywhere near what is was with Leah....

What do you think I am having?

T-W-O

Last Friday my baby girl became a BIG (seriously big, I will get to that later) two year old.

Her days of babyhood are long gone.

She has entered this toddler stage head on and is everything you think of a two year old.

She talks up a storm. 4-5 word sentences.   Brian actually got her to say "Daddy you are my favorite person" the other day.   It made his year.

You can call her Miss Independent.  She must try to dress herself, wash her own hands, diaper herself, feed herself, buckle herself into the car, close the doors.  She often says "I can do it." and "No help."  And once she has accomplished whatever it is she wanted to do she declares "I did it!".

We have said good bye to the crib and binkie as well.   She currently rests on a single twin mattress on the floor.   In a few weeks I think we will move it up to an actual bed when we are sure she will not be falling off.   At first she would wake up so proud of herself for sleeping in her bed, proclaiming "I sleepy in my bed!"

Saying good bye to the binkie is our newest accomplishment.   I cut the tips and gave them to her.  She declared they were broken and willingly threw them in the trashcan saying good bye to them.   She has been doing great since.   One rough night of sleep, but last night she almost slept thru the night.. I say almost because she actually woke up, I went in to check on her and she kicked me out!  She quickly went back to sleep on her own.   Seriously, can we say BIG GIRL!?

Her 2 year old check up assured us that Leah is in fact a big, healthy growing girl.

37.5 inches tall (99.66th percentile)
33 lbs 11 oz (97.80th percentile)

My little giant!  Out of 1000 two year olds, only 34 of them would be taller than Leah!  

We have been anxious to see how tall Leah would be at 2 years old.  We had heard of the myth that your 2 year old height, times 2, is your adult height.  I asked the doctor if she saw it to hold true and she said no, it rarely holds true.   She agreed that Leah will be tall, that is obvious, but we are both unsure if she will be 6'3!   I am sort of glad because I am not sure I would want her to be 6'3!   We dont want her teased... 5'11 or 6 foot we welcome though.

We also discussed with her doctor how coordinated Leah is.   The doctor even declared that she will be our athlete.  Can we say Brian and I's dream come true?  ha!  

Whether that comes true or not, we are sure that whatever she becomes she will be AMAZING.
 
And now a few pictures of the birthday girl...

Out to get ice cream.  Being spoiled by her Grandma and Grandma G.  (Leah calls her Grandpas "Grandma", and then she giggles.  She knows they are "Grandpa" but refuses to call them that.   Her little joke I guess.)

Opening all her presents all by herself. 

Her birthday cupcake.  A little unsure of the candles and the singing. 

Mommy had to help blow out the candle.

She is now cupcake obsessed and asks for one ALL THE TIME

Look What I Did!

For like a year I have been wanting to re-cover our kitchen chairs.

I finally did it today and I am bummed I waited so long!

It was super easy and only cost me 35 dollars... that included the cost of staple gun which I now love and want to staple everything in site!

I picked this dark fabric because I hoped it wouldn't look so horribly stained and dirty so fast (We took Leah out of the high chair but she now drops everything onto her chair)... but now that I know that it was so easy and cheap I am excited to choose more fun and pretty patterns in the future!! 

Cha-Cha-Changes

Starting to look pregnant...

A bit more round than I was with Miss Leah... I guess this is what 2nd pregnancy does to ya...

Starting to feel a bit better... 

More energy! 

Much less morning sickness...

I can see 2nd trimester on the horizon! 

Thoughts that need out of my head...

*** I am hoping that if I write this then I can get back to studying because my test is in like 15 hrs....

• I love it when people who have known me since I was little call me "Kimmy".   Friends, friends parents, my dad... I just checked my voicemail and the first thing I heard was "Hey Kimmy" from my dad... it made me almost want to cry (pregnant remember) because Yes, I still am his little girl named Kimmy Kozlen. 
• I love getting Tostadas from Taco Bell because its what my dad and I used to always get.   I do not know of a single person other than us that ever orders them... So good! Try it! I also love to get Chilli Cheese Burritos because they remind my of my brother. 
• I think I am just in a very sentimental mood... 
• I have been sleeping very heavily lately... There are railroad tracks close to this house.   The sound of the trains have never woken us up, its more like a gentle rumble when they pass.   I had a sound machine once (my brother bought it for me for Christmas one year... I wish I still had it!) and it had a train on it.   There is also the static/white noise of the baby monitor all night that seems to knock me out.   We never really had to use a baby monitor before but because the master bedroom is downstairs and Leah is upstairs its needed... except I end up in such a deep sleep I dont always hear her stirring until she is standing at her door screaming for me to let her out... 
• Yes, my almost 2 year old still will not always sleep thru the night.   When we moved we moved her to a regular bed... or really just her twin mattress on the floor, as 8 inches to fall off is not so bad until she learns to stop rolling all over the place like a crazy person... and we are in the adjustment period still.   Usually when she wakes up she gives me some sort of commentary as to why "I fell. I fell."  or "I dont see any binks".  
• I wish I could just go to sleep right now... but I must take another practice exam... 

• 

Just a week late...

Just wanted to throw some Halloween pictures up before my thoughts become clouded with baby brain...

Our new neighborhood is A-W-E-S-O-M-E for trick-or-treating!   Everyone was sitting out in the drive ways with their fire pits and a group of friends enjoying the night.  There were kids Leah's age all over the place! I do not remember ever seeing so many kids out on Halloween, all around the same age.     My sister-n-law brought over her family and we got to enjoy the night together!    The night made me even happier with our move to Eureka!   (I promise to put pictures up once we get more settled... hopefully by next weekend.   We still have boxes everywhere, curtains to be hung, and decor to be put out...)

Leah LOVED trick or treating.   She went up to everyone, said "Trick Treat" and would grab for a handful of candy.   I often had to pull her away and remind her that we only get 1 piece.  She asks for her candy daily... and we luckily are almost done with it... besides the 3 musketeers and M & Ms I put in the freezer... yum!  

My sister also came over and brought Leah a Halloween goodie bag which included bubbles.   Leah tried for almost an hour to blow the bubbles but never blew a single one! She was so darn cute trying though! I dont think she even noticed that nothing was happening.  She just knew you were supposed to dip the stick and blow!

Leah insisted on putting her coat on when it was time to head out.   She actually made me take her costume off and put her coat on... I had to bring the costume with us and as we came up to the first house she let me put it back on her. I was nervous for a second...