My Heart is Full

My hubby has been trying to get me to transfer ms. Addie to her crib for about a week now :( As much as I love my sleep freedom, I hate when it comes time to transfer my baby to her crib! It just makes her seem so big - and I'm not ready for her to be big yet! We set her crib up in the girls' room about two weeks ago so that Lydia would have a chance to get used to it before transferring Addie in there. Lydia  is used to it at this point, but I'm not! I've begun to lose the battle to keep Addie in our room. 

Here is what Addie's Rock 'n Play sleeper next to our bed looked like last week:

And this is what it looks like now :(

It looks so empty! To make me feel a little better, I went to check on my girls in their room before going to bed...they are just so sweet - my little sleeping beauties. My heart instantly felt full. I wish I could take a picture of them, but I didn't want to wake them. As much as I don't want to be ready for Addie to be in her crib, she looks completely adorable in there, fast asleep. 

In other news, I chopped my hair off tonight! It had been about 5 months since getting my hair done. So it was way overdue. I had an appointment at a salon in Eden Prairie (I bought a groupon). When I got there they said they thought I had cancelled my appointment (which I never did) and had filled it with another customer. Great. They were booked for the rest of the night. Double great. So I called around and got in at Life Salon in Chanhassen (love!). I figured since I had already driven all the way out there just to get my hair done, I was going to get my hair done! Random, the hairstylist lives in my neighborhood! Ha! Here is my new do:

I wanted to go shorter than usual. I was feeling daring! I like the results :) We'll see if I can style it myself (ha). I've got a question for you all...how much is customary to tip? I don't usually go to a salon, so I am out of the loop a little bit.

Lastly, some fun pics of the girls from this last week...

I love my little peanuts!

-Brie

I love packages! My Monthly Box Subscriptions!

I love getting packages in the mail! It doesn't even matter the size of the package - it could just be a free sample - I always get super excited! :)

This is one of the reasons I love Box subscriptions! It is like getting a magazine in the mail every month, but instead of something to read, it is a box full of fun goodies!!! The two I subscribe to are Birchbox and now Stork Stack.


I am so in love with Birchbox because 1. It is only $10/month and 2. I never know what beauty products (shampoo, perfume, etc) 3. I can be sure I like the beauty product before I spend $$ on a full-size. 4. I can cancel my subscription at any time! If I have plenty of samples laying around that I need to use up, I can cancel my subscription for a month (or several months) and re-subscribe at any time. I've done this a couple times :)

Some other benefits: *It ships FREE! I hate paying for shipping. *Earn rewards for shopping their online store. Rewards equal money toward products! *You can earn more rewards points for writing reviews of the products you sample. It is quick, easy and the points add up quick! (Click on the "Box" tab, select a product, then click "Write a review." *Birchbox offers full-size products of all their samples at their online store - no need to go searching for the things you like! It's all in one place! *They offer free shipping on all full-sized products that were featured in that months Birchbox. Again, I hate paying for shipping!

Sounds amazing, right?!? I love it!


I just signed up for Stork Stack and haven't received my first box yet - when I do, I'll review it :) I had been toying with the idea of signing up for this one for a while. It is a little more expensive than Birchbox ($27.99/month - BUT Free shipping!). For me, this price is a little steep, but I have heard such good things about it! Plus, I love trying new baby things! I don't have as much exposure to new baby products as I would like since I do most of my shopping at Target. Every time I go to baby boutiques I want to try all their adorable stuff, but it can be so pricey! After going back and forth about it for a while I received a referral code from a friend for $10 off my first box and decided it was worth a try! This way I can decide if it will be worth the $28/month without having to spend $28 ;) Hehe

What I like about it so far: 1. The completely adorable packaging 2. After looking on their website and talking to others about it, it seems they really load up their packages! 3. FREE shipping! 4. Information about and links to the products they feature in their box each month.

I am hoping I love it as much as I think I will! If you want to give it a try, here is a code for $10 OFF your first month! Code: D619F356

Love you all!
Brie

In Case You Missed It

In case anyone missed my TV segments, here they are :) For your viewing pleasure. I'd post the videos directly on here, but I am not that tech savvy! Hehe



List: 10 Overpriced Items at Grocery Stores


Freezer Foods

Have a good night, my friends!

Brie

It Happened!?!?

I had thought several times in the past year that it was possible this day would never come! It has been nearly one year since graduating with my Masters of Dental Therapy degree. I have had countless interviews. I have gotten to the point where clinics have wanted to hire me but time after time something came up where it just wasn't going to work to have a dental therapist at their clinic. This time is different! I think it still has not fully set in that I have finally been offered a dental therapy position!!! I think there are a couple reasons for this... 1. I wasn't expecting to hear back from the clinic for at least another day and 2. I did not allow myself to think about actually being offered the job since I have been let down so many times. But not this time!!!! :) I have been offered a full time (32 hour/week) dental therapy position at a federally qualified health center (FQHC) in St. Paul. The majority of my time will be spent in the clinic, but I will also be working with the outreach team to go to elementary schools and providing dental care to children - how perfect!! On top of the excitement about getting to do dentistry (finally), we also discussed pay and benefits. I found out that the clinic has a loan re-payment program that could potentially cover 50% of my student loans! What an amazing benefit! What a relief to have that huge student loan number potentially cut in half!

Anyways, I couldn't contain my excitement so I had to share... Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me. I have learned a great lesson in patience and now I am ready to fix some teeth! ;)

(I had a little fun playing with a photo app on my iPhone this afternoon - here is Adeline at 3 months old)

Love, Brie

Phases in Life

I always enjoy looking back at pictures and reading about different phases of my life. It amazes me how much things change - how quickly my babies grow, how different my relationships are, how my goals change. It is all so fascinating to me. This might be due, in part, to my short memory ;) It's a good thing I have kept either a journal or a blog since I was in middle school so I can look back at the phases of my life.

I figure since my last post was about maternity leave, I should update some photos of our family of 4!!!!

Adeline at 3.5 weeks old

Adeline and her Godparents - Jill and Ben

Me and my "little smooshie"

3.5 weeks

Easter 2013 - 2 months old

 

 

 

Easter 2013 - Miss Lydia

Crazy how quickly they grow, isn't it? It feels like I was just pregnant and now Addie is 3 months old! How did that happen??!! And Lydia is a wonderful big sister. Mike and I were worried that she would be jealous of Adeline, which in turn might lead to her being not-so-nice. That really hasn't been the case. She actually ignores Addie most of the time. She will check to make sure she is doing ok every once in a while, but that is about the extent of their interaction.

Adeline has been such a happy little baby! It was a nice change from the way Lydia was as a baby. If Adeline is fed and being held, she is content. She has gotten better about sitting by herself in the bouncy seat or the swing. She would still rather be held though. She is similar to Lydia in that sense.

Unfortunately, one of the things that hasn't changed is my dental career. It has been nearly a year since graduating and I have yet to find a dental therapy position. *Sigh* It isn't for a lack of trying, but I guess God is trying to test my patience a little longer! I have had quite a few hopeful prospects, but for one reason or another it always falls through. Despite this, I have really enjoyed the time it has allowed to spend with my girls. I really feel blessed to have two beautiful, healthy little ones. Lately, however, I haven't been able to spend much time with my dear hubby. I got a serving job for nights and weekends to help out with some of the family expenses when Addie was 6 weeks old (a little sooner that I would have liked, but the opportunity presented itself). Mike comes home from work and I immediately run out the door to head to work. This usually happens 3 days during the week. I also usually have at least one shift on the weekend. Throw in errands and other activities that happen during any given week and you can see there isn't much time for DH and I to be together. This is temporary though. And for that reason, I think we can both deal with it for now. I should find out next week if our routine will be changing again. I could possibly be starting a full-time dental position in a couple of months. Or it could fall through ;)

That's it for now - It's almost 1am and I should get some sleep!

Love, Brie

My Maternity Leave - Round 2

If I recall my first maternity leave correctly, I was done with everything I needed to do after roughly day 2...and so ready for the baby to arrive. I remember being so bored, so uncomfortable and so crabby. The first week home on this maternity leave has been a different experience - thank goodness.

I am slowly checking things off my "nesting check-list."
Monday, I didn't do much but enjoy not having to go to work.

Tuesday I got down to business. I cleaned (deep cleaned) the kitchen. I scrubbed the sink with a toothbrush and baking soda. I cleaned the stove. I cleaned every nook and cranny of the microwave with a 50/50 mix of blue Dawn and white vinegar (12 oz each) until it sparkled white. I cleaned/disinfected all the counters. It looked glorious. Unfortunately it lasted about 24 hours before it was ready for a good cleaning again. :-\ But the microwave still looks great! :) That night I got started on recipes to freeze. I got 2 muffin recipes done: Chocolate-berry muffins and hot chocolate muffins. Yum!

Wednesday (Yesterday) was grocery shopping. I mean major grocery shopping - with a 2 year-old. My extensive grocery list included ingredients for the freezer meals I had planned, as well as healthy snacks for when baby arrives and typical household groceries. I wasn't sure we were going to make it, but we survived. We went to our local grocery store's 'dollar days' and stocked up on some essentials for a great prices. This grocery store tends to be a little pricey, so what we didn't get a good deal on there, we finished off at Target. $220 and a full trunk of groceries later, we were ready to go home. All in all, it took about 3 hours (including our quick stop to pick up the Diaper Champ I found on Craigslist for $10). We were both spent by the time we got home. Lydia went down for a nap and I rested on the couch for a while before I could muster up the energy to actually unload the groceries. I eventually got it all unloaded and put away. Oddly enough, this process also took about 3 hours ;) I was so ready for a mama break right around the time DH called and said he had to stay late at work. Humph. Back on my feet it was to make dinner (Chicken and rice with broccoli). I was very tired at this point...Lydia, not so much. Luckily DH made it home about 30 min before her bed time and was able to do their typical bedtime routine while I rested for a little while. A short while. Before I decided I needed to make the other 2 batches of muffins I had planned to freeze. Coffeehouse Coffee cake muffins and Apple Oatmeal muffins. Luckily they were soooooo delicious. They were a nice treat before bedtime :)



Today consisted of more freezer meal prep. I made 2 gallon bags full of pot roast ingredient and 2 bags of fajita ingredients to freeze. I also did some laundry. I had a nice little rest while Lydia napped and then it was off to my OB appointment. I had to get my Strep B test...The midwife asked if I wanted to be checked. I hadn't decided before the appointment, but I figured since she was down there anyway, she might as well check me to see where things were at. Much to my delight, I am 1cm dilated! It doesn't mean a whole lot, but it is nice to know that my body has at least thought about working toward getting this baby out! Haha Now, we are off to bible study. I might take it easy tomorrow. Maybe another load of laundry and packing hospital bags for me, Lydia and Adeline? We'll see...

Full Term - Ready?

I'm officially full term as of today :) It's kind of hard to believe! Pretty soon we are going to have 2 little girls! I can't even picture it. I am at a loss to imagine what our life will be like. I get the feeling that having 2 is going to be so much harder than having one.

Plus, oddly enough, I felt much more prepared for Lydia than I am feeling for Adeline. I know I have done it before but 1) Every baby is so different and 2) I don't really remember anything from when Lydia was a baby. I haven't done a whole lot to prepare for Adeline either. Luckily, we have pretty much everything we need, so I didn't really need to do a whole lot. I made a check-list of things I would like to get done before her arrival - it is 3 pages long!!! Yikes!

Now that I am done with work, I should have the time to get it all done. The problem is, I'm lacking motivation. Today, I was thinking I'd get some stuff done while Lydia took her nap (usually about 3 hours long). Well she has been sleeping for 2.5 hours and I haven't gotten anything from my checklist done :-\ I also don't know how quickly I will be able to accomplish things with a little toddler running around. Especially when it comes to cleaning! Lydia tends to like to make a mess wherever I clean. Haha

With all that said, there are only a couple things on the list that need to get done before baby gets here - setting up the bassinet and rocking chair, sterilizing pacifiers, installing the car seat and packing the hospital bag. None of those things take very long and the car seat and hospital bag can be taken care of when I go into labor. I guess there is no need to stress too much.

I guess I will do a little update on how I've been feeling...Surprisingly, I am doing ok, My SPD really only bothers me at night. Sleeping is kind of hit or miss lately. And I've been pretty tired during the day. My belly is quite large, but I don't know that it is big as it was with Lydia (although I will probably still grow a little more). Most of the stretch marks I have are from the last pregnancy - only a couple of new ones. So overall, my physical symptoms are fairly manageable, considering. I have been pretty stressed and anxious recently. I'm not sure if it is related to the pregnancy or outside stuff I have going on.

Lastly, some pictures of my little Love - taken by Uncle Kyle with his new fancy camera :)

Dearest Adeline...

How I feel during pregnancy

How I wish I felt during pregnancy

I am 32 weeks pregnant now, and I am soooooooooooooo ready for this pregnancy to be over. Over the last couple weeks, things have gotten so huge and uncomfortable. The comments have started about how I look like I am ready to 'pop.' And about my swollen hands, wrists and face. Eight more weeks of this could possibly kill me. I'm already starting to look at exercise pins on pinterest. My fat-phobia is in full effect. And I hate it. I wish I didn't feel this way and I could embrace pregnancy for all it's worth. It's not like I want to be the angry pregnant woman. I just am.

I want to be able to wear normal clothes. I want to not cringe at every picture I am in. I want to be able to lay on my back. I want to not be hungry all.the.time. I want to be able to exercise without having extreme pain in my pelvis. I want to be able to hold Lydia without her squishing my belly. I want to be able to roll over without cringing in pain. The list could go on and on.

So my dearest Adeline, mama loves you very much and I cannot wait to meet you. If you feel the desire to make your entry into this world a little early, mama would be very greteful.

Belly Progression - Baby #2

This was fun to look at with the pictures I had during my pregnancy with Lydia. I thought I would do it again for this pregnancy so far :) I will continue to add more pictures as I progress!

4 Weeks

8 Weeks

14 Weeks

20 Weeks

23 Weeks



25 Weeks




27 Weeks



28 Weeks

30 Weeks

32 Weeks

36 Weeks

39 Weeks



Shopping Bug - Hits Again ;)

I've been really good about shopping this pregnancy! I'm actually quite proud of myself, actually. Not sure if you remember, but I went CRAZY shopping for Lydia...before I was even pregnant! This time, the only thing I have purchased for the little miss is her Pottery Barn crib bedding.

 

I got the Pottery Barn Penelope crib quilt (Retail: $99)

Pottery Barn Pink Callie crib bumper (Retail: $99)

 

Pottery Barn 5x8 Penelope Rug (Retail: $299)

 

And finally some Penelope-inspired canvas paintings that look similar to these.

Of course I didn't shell out an arm and a leg for this totally adorable (totally expensive) set! I only paid $65 total for all of it!!! Awwww yeah!

I'm getting the shopping bug though - just in time for Black Friday :) There isn't a whole lot I need for this baby, but there are definitely a few things I'd like to pick up. For example, I'd like to get Bean and Bug a couple matching outfits! Wouldn't that be so cute?!?! 

I picked up some more maternity clothes today. I hate spending a lot of money on maternity clothes that I wear for such a short period of time, but I have to wear something, right??? So I picked up a pair of dark-wash maternity jeans from Old Navy ($29) and a cute flowy top ($10). I was also tempted to get a Betsy Johnson winter coat at Nordstrom Rack ($75) that would work for pregnancy or non-pregnancy. I just couldn't decide whether I would wear it enough to justify spending $75 on it. I'm going to think about it some more.

And finally...I'm not obsessed with some of the new baby gear they have at Pottery Barn. Obsessed. I created a registry there with just a just a few things on it. Not sure if we will get much from there, but there might be a few things that I just have to have ;) Mainly, these:

The cutest. Ever.

Along with the matching stroller blankets ;)

Ok, that's it. I'm done, for now. Hehe.

They Finally Came!

Lydia has 2 new teeth!!! Yippeeeeeeee!!!! So now, at 20 months old, she has a total of 6 teeth - well, almost. Her new teeth are her top 1st molars, but they aren't completely in obviously - just one cusp so far. How weird is that!?!?! She doesn't have her lateral incisors yet, but we can see them coming. It honestly looks like all the rest of her teeth are trying to come in (except her 2nd molars. I haven't seen signs of those yet). She has been working on these teeth since before labor day! She got a nasty ear infection 2 weeks ago, so I knew there had to be new teeth to follow - there always is! I can't wait to see her with all her teeth!

We've decided to switch daycare. There were a couple reasons for this:
1. Lydia can't seem to stay healthy in the daycare she is at. I know, it's a daycare and kids get sick. But the other daycare has fewer kids and is at the lady's home. '
2. She kept getting bit and scratched resulting in 3 incident reports in less than a month. I felt so bad for her. But on top of that, she seems to be picking up some not so desirable behavior - like hitting and pushing other kids. I realize it is hard to disipline each toddler that acts out when there are so many kids. But since she only does it when she is around other kids, and she is rarely around other kids with us, it is hard for us to stop the behavior.
3. Money. This in-home day care will save us $200/month and it is only about 2 minutes away from our house! We met her and her family last week and really liked them. Lydia seemed to feel right at home when she was there and loved all the new toys!

So she will start there in about 1.5 weeks. I'm hoping we made the right decision and she adjusts well.

Baby - It's a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So excited! And relieved. I would have been stressed about having to get a whole new baby wardrobe, especially when money is tight right now. We have plenty of little girl clothes in sitting in bins in the basement, ready to be worn again. I am going to have to go through everything, wash it, and figure out what we might need more of. I'm super excited to decorate their room! We decided that they will share a room and I have so many cute ideas in my head! I already know how I want to lay it out! I just got Pottery Barn bedding for Lydia (who will be moving to a twin size bed) and the new baby on craigslist for a KILLER deal! I am so excited to put it all together with the white dresser we refinished. I can't wait to take pictures and put them on here! I also need to put pictures up of the ultrasound (but they are on a disc at home, and I am at work right now). The ultrasound tech said everything looks great. She is a little peanut so far. She was measuring a week behind, but the ultrasound tech that we could have just caught her before a growth spurt. Lydia measured 2 days ahead at her appointment. Since Labor Day, I have actually lost 1 lb! I don't know if you remeber, but I gained 3 pounds over the weekend and was thinking, "here we go again." But I ended up dropping those 3 pounds and ended up gaining 2 pounds total last month. I am about 2 pounds up again this month - with the next appointment coming up in about a week and a half. It is weird to me to be gaining so slowly after gaining so quickly with Lydia (I had gained 20 pound these same two months with Lydia!). It makes me worried sometimes that baby isn't growing normally - but I think she is probably just fine.

Fall - I cannot express how excited I am that it is Fall. It has to be possibly my favorite season! The weather is so much more comfortable (especially after the ridiculously HOT summer we had this year), the trees are so pretty and there is fun activities to take part in. Not to mention the anticipation of all the fun holidays coming up! We went to Emma Krumbee's apple orchard in Belle Plaine a couple weekends ago. It was beautiful weather! Lydia was kind of crabby (teeth?) but we all ended up having fun and picking some delicious Harrlson apples!



Lydia helping pick apples




Our little family - including my bump from our new litle girl :)



All smiles with grandma waiting to catch her at the bottom!



Lydia loved the pirate ship with the big yellow slide!

 I can't wait to go to the pumpkin patch now!!!! I found so many fun ideas for painting and carving pumpkins on Pinterest. So fun!! 

Love, Brie

Already?!?!

We are playing the Fall league of sand volleyball this year, which I am so excited about! DH and I have so much fun playing. We have played the Summer leauge the last couple years and this year, I guess we all wanted more :) We play with my dad, DH's mom, brother, sister and dad (Except he is injured for this season). It is good family time (for the most part, haha) and so nice to have a reason to see everybody at least once per week. We had our first games of the Fall season last night - we won all 6 games (3 games/match)! Great start, especially having an aweful finish to the Summer season (We narrowly avoided a family brawl due to the overly competative nature of a certain family member). A problem has arisen, however. I got up this morning and had a hard time walking. It is a familiar pain. I had the same thing happen with Lydia. It is lower pelvic/groin pain. I think SPD is kicking in, already :( It did not happen this early with Lydia. If I remember correctly, it held off until the third trimester the first pregnancy. I guess we'll see what happens after the games next week. Maybe it's a fluke. Maybe I just tweaked something weird?

In other news....We find out what we are having on FRIDAY!!!! Yay! My oppointment was originally made for for next Tuesday, but I just couldn't stand to wait until I was 20 weeks +1 day! So I called and had them switch the appointment to Friday :) I'm definitely thinking girl. The heart rate has been the same as Lydia and I've had very similar symptoms, just stronger with this pregnancy.

DH is thinking we should put both kids in the same room. He thinks there is no reason why they would need their own rooms at this age. I definitely see his point. It would be much easier to have them share a room if this one is a girl also. But I suppose we could make it work either way. They just wouldn't be able to share a room for as long. We'll have to think about it.

Miss Lydia is definitely getting teeth! She woke up (after she had a rough night) Saturday morning with about 8 bumps in her mouth where she is working on getting teeth in. 8!!!! That is crazy! It would be great if she actually did get all 8 at one time and get them over with. Then we wouldn't have to keep going through the teething process over and over again. I can't wait to see all those new teethers either! It's going to be so cute! I just hope we have a couple more good nights of sleep in the meantime. Although I think last night was a fluke and we just lucked out ;) She stayed with my MIL Saturday night while DH and I had a BBQ and bonfire with friends. She only woke up once (from 3-4am) that night, which is pretty good lately.

Here are some pictures of her weekend:


Eating corn at Grandma's




Checking out Grandpa's peppers

 Doesn't she look so big?!?! I can't believe it! I was asked this weekend if she is 3! She is only 19 months! It went too fast! But she is so fun at this age. She is talking so much! She learns so quickly now. She knows most of her body parts - head, hair, teeth, nose, cheeks, eyes, chin, ears, shoulders, arm, elbow, belly, belly button, leg, knee, foot, toes! We are working on letters, colors and numbers. She can count to 3 and is practicing "A-B-C." She is going to be speaking in full sentences before we know it!

Love, B