March 10, 2017 by Stephanie

Bachelor Nick Week 10

It’s the Women Tell All Week, which is one of my favorite episodes. And we saw how the other two overnights went.

So that weird montage of Raven frolicking around Finland is insinuating that they did it. This is odd.
That cross country skiing looks awful.
I don’t understand how Nick and Rachel aren’t together after this date…They seem like the most natural couple. I mean he says that he is falling for her too. I am so confused.
Why is this ice bath even a thing? I am enjoying watching their reactions walking back. I don’t think the ice bath is a fear Nick. It is just stupid.
I don’t think that Vanessa and Nick will end up together for the sake that they both want to stay in their own countries.
That ring on Vanessa’s finger looks like a Clemson class ring…And i just spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to find out where she went to school.
And now we all can breathe with Rachel off. Answers NICK!
You are giving me nothing Nick. We all know Rachel is amazing. What happened?
I think Nick likes a difficult woman-both Raven and Vanessa bring their own drama.
I apparently didn’t have much thought about this episode…
But now comes the “Women Tell All”
I need to find people who are at these watch parties to watch the show with. But they need to do all the planning and theming; I will just show up.
Oh my goodness these sorority women went CRAZY…
Those clear plastic chairs look so uncomfortable.
Alexis admits that she was a shark. Thank goodness.
Haha Chris trying to get these women to calm down…this is insane. I don’t even know where to look.
I don’t think that Taylor was bullying Corinne at all, but I don’t want her to be my counselor with how she conducted herself.
I still don’t know how I feel about Liz. I agree that she shouldn’t be shamed for having sex with Nick, but I still feel like some of this is an act. I don’t know, it’s just odd.
I would agree that Corinne read into things a little too much. And yes, Corinne you did talk bad about people…
Taylor does seem a little stuck up, just saying.
I feel like they gave Corinne more time to say her piece..
Ok now, they are defending Taylor.
Jazmine, no not everyone calls everyone bitches.
Everyone didn’t take naps during rose ceremonies, Corinne.
Taylor and Corinne are both not seeing what each other are ACTUALLY saying…
Why is Jazmine trying to make piece with Corinne but making waves with Taylor?
Corinne is living in her own world and doesn’t take other people’s perspectives into account. It doesn’t help when the whole focus of the women tell all was her.
Kristina’s interview was beautiful. And yes Liz was right we should be building each other up and not fighting because their is something so much greater. That is like a smack in the face for sure.
Yea two and ones are not ideal, but that is part of this experience that you SIGNED UP for. I think Nick handled his response to Danielle’s comments well.
Rachel is gorgeous! I am so excited for her, and that is so awesome that the women are so supportive of her. It looks like no one thought ill of her.
And Astrid’s comment about taking the left-overs was great!
Nick and Rachel are still adorable together.
In the previews, they are totally playing up that Nick can’t make up his mind and may end up alone, which is his biggest fear. One more week guys.

Favorites: I could not care less at this point. I go back and forth on who will end up with the final rose. Parts of me think Vanessa because I have loved her from the beginning, but I don’t think the relationship will last on account that they both won’t move to another country. Raven, I think has potential to get the rose but I just don’t see the longevity there either.

March 9, 2017 by Stephanie

Shout Outs

Sometimes you need to acknowledge the good things and where that fruitfulness is coming from. We all need a little more positivity in our days.

So here are my shout outs:

Shout out to our contractor and the crews he has picked to work on our addition. This framing crew got all this done and a metal roof on in 2.5 days. All the windows are in as well, I just got home too late to take a picture of it in the daylight. They were so fast! It is so much fun to walk through our new rooms!

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Shout out to Netflix for providing me with Parks and Rec to enjoy with my hubby. Andy is seriously the best character.

Shout out to my sister-in-law who planned a great art auction for a local charity that provides shelter to homeless teens along with several other programs. I have photographed this event for the past four years, and I am always so in awe of what she puts together. Emily is a great event planner!

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Shout out to donuts, because hello they are donuts.

Shout out to my hubby. He is the best teammate. I could not have gotten through this last month without him. He has taken off work to be there for George and done countless things to get our house project moving. I love him, and I think I will keep him.

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Shout out to our church for their Wednesday night ministries and making it easier on me by providing dinner each week. George also wants to shout out for the never-ending desserts he gets at these dinners.

Shout out to Amazon for having wishlists so I can feel like I am shopping but not actually drop any cash. I saved probably 25 comforters the other day…

Who do you want to make a shout out to?

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March 2, 2017 by Stephanie

Bachelor Nick Week 9

I feel like so much hype has been put into the fantasy suite episode. Here are my thoughts

Nick is so confused about Andi’s presence.
This conversation might call for some whiskey? What is happening?
Rachel’s green dress is a dream. That is a phenomenal color on her.
I think Andi is just here to chat and plump up her endorsement career, whatever that is.
Andi telling him to have intimate time if it feels right is interesting after how things went down on their After the Rose. I do think that she was right about him not letting that taint his experience now.
I think either Corinne or Rachel are going home.
I think my heart about stopped waiting for him to call Vanessa’s name.
Corinne’s cry seemed very forced.
Nick was very sweet and tender with his break up to Corinne.
Corinne, when did you ever kiss up to a man?
And in true Corinne fashion, she fell asleep in the limo.
I am so confused…Am I not remembering it correctly? Didn’t Raven say she was falling in love with him at the haunted house date? Why does she keep saying she hasn’t said I love you to anyone?
I think Nick is in love with Raven.
“I own a clothing store-I fold clothes all day.” Touche. Also did he forget that about her?
I really hate that the fantasy suite implies that you have to have sex. Raven, don’t make that decision unless you feel ready all that it means (good and bad). This seems to be pressure for them to have that experience even if in the “real world” that wouldn’t be a choice they would make at that time of the relationship. I don’t like it at all.
Raven telling Nick that she loves him was like a romcom script. It was really beautiful. And Nick’s reaction definitely makes me think even more that he is in love with her too.
Wait, they are only showing one fantasy suite this week? I need these producers to get it together.
What is Nick doing? He is no viking. And if he was really working out in the snow, why is he wearing jeans STILL?

February 26, 2017 by Stephanie

To Remember About George at 2.5 Years

There are so many things I want to remember about this stage. I know there will come a time when I can hardly believe that he was this small (even though right now I think he is SO big), and I will have forgotten all the little quirky things that he does. I feel like I have forgotten all the infant stuff already. It goes by too fast!

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So here is what I want to remember about George at 2 and a half years old.

I want to remember that he pronounces his friend’s name Henry like Honey.

I want to remember that he loves to sing Maroon Five. He also will sing when we are at choir practice at church. He likes to direct too.

I want to remember that he says “Hold You” when he in fact wants you to hold him.

Even though it can be aggravating, I want to remember him being demanding and telling me to “Stop It” or how he puts his finger on my mouth and says “No Talk Mommy.”

I want to remember that we have crossed the potty training bridge, and that we go through a week with less accidents than there are days.

I want to remember that he has claimed it as his chore to clear the table at dinner, and how Tom and I hold our breath that he doesn’t break any dishes when he throws them in the sink. He also has taken this task because he knows we will come play much sooner if we are done with dinner. Sometimes he tries to take our plates before we are actually done eating…

I want to remember that every morning on our drive into town I get a new story about the Paw Patrol gang as he reads to me from his favorite book about his puppy pals.

I want to remember that he knows the difference between plane tracks in the sky and actual clouds.

I want to remember how serious his face gets when he is playing hard or learning something new.

I want to remember that bedtime reading takes close to 45 minutes because while we start with two books (one that he picks out and one that I pick out) we end up reading at least 3 more books because “one more mommy.”

I want to remember how emphatically he says tractor. He purses his lips and says it from his gut without moving his teeth. His love for these machines grows every day.

I want to remember how Tom and I cannot contain our laughing when George says bridge. It sounds like a bad 5 letter word…

I want to remember how he asks for “nuggles and cuddles.”

I want to remember his new favorite game is face planting on the couch. He stands at the end, and puts his arms to his sides while I put my arms up to signal him to get ready. Then we both count to 3 and scream go. Then when my hands go down he trust falls into a face plant on the couch. This kid.

I want to remember how he says chocolate=chalket.

I want to remember how he tries to be a helper…most of the time.

I want to remember how he cheers for himself when he is done with brushing his teeth, getting a puzzle done, or he successfully went on the potty. “YAY! I did it!”

I want to remember how he wants to inspect his “big ol’ poops” and how he is so proud of himself that he got it out.

Continuing with the potty theme, I want to remember that his poop time is always hilarious. Either he has to squat so he can bend over and watch it come out, or he has to hug me or Tom while he is squeezing the turd out and coaches himself through the process. “I trying. I do it.” He also likes to coach when Daddy and Mommy are on the potty too. He pulls up a stool, sits, and says “You go poop Mommy? You do it. I flush it.”

I want to remember that when I give him a bath he tries to give me mini heart attacks by actually laying face down and swimming in the water. He never does this when Tom gives him a bath…

I want to remember how he loves doing puzzles. We have a Thomas the Train one that we do no fewer than 5 times a day. He will get it all together, say “I did it,” then break it all up and start it over immediately. And the Thomas one has to be out all the time otherwise he panics, “Where Thomas?”

I want to remember how he protects the babies at his sitter’s house. He won’t let any of the other boys come near them.

I want to remember how he plays with my hair as I sing to him goodnight.

I want to remember how he kisses my belly to talk to his sister.

I want to remember that he is still sleeping in a crib. Why my crazy adventurous little man has never attempted to climb out of cribs is beyond me. But we will continue to take it for the next couple months before we move it to DC’s room and we transition him to his new big boy room.

I could keep going…There are so many things as I go through our days that I never want to forget. I know he won’t stay little forever ever, but this here will help me remember how sweet and fun this stage was. While we do have our challenging moments where we are both fighting for control of the situation, mostly he is a sweet sweet boy who loves to take the world in around him.

So happy half birthday my little booger. It’s hard to believe that it has only been 2.5 years since you entered this world, yet at the same time it’s like you have always been here. I love you more and more every day!

February 23, 2017 by Stephanie

Baby Girl Isn’t the Only Addition For Us

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Last summer, Tom and I started talking about whether it was time for a new baby. We felt that we were ready emotionally and financially to add another little person to our family.

However we also knew that the space we had currently in our home was not super functional for a family of four, for us anyway. We could make it work, but we wouldn’t like everything about it. So we had some serious conversations of whether we eventually move to a bigger space or whether we embark on a construction journey to add on to our house.

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There were some things we had to consider:

What were our musts for a 4-person home?
What was the likelihood of finding those?
Can we adjust our current house to fit those musts?
What did we love about our current house that would be hard to find elsewhere?
What would our dream house have that we don’t have?

It honestly came down to two things: we hate moving, and it would be nearly impossible to find a better location than our current house. (We work in different cities so location is extremely important.)

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So last fall, before we found out about baby 2, we started the renovation process. We both really wanted this done before we had another baby, and we thought we had time. Ha oh life.

The first step was meeting with someone to draft up blueprints of the addition. We are adding quite a bit, so this required more than just our dream sketches made at the kitchen table. The upside of adding to our house is we can get exactly what we want so we are not taking any short cuts to make this our dream home. It took several attempts to get the blueprints where we wanted them and have them fit into our budget.

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Then came the arduous process of figuring out a construction loan. We had to go to two different banks to settle on a loan agent that was willing to work with us (and that we liked/trusted) because we will be consolidating and refinancing our original home loan once the construction is done.

We finally got the loan squared away after the holidays, and then came the waiting period for the weather and the construction crew’s availability to line up perfectly.

Which happened last week.

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They hope to have it under roof by the end of next week.

So many changes around these parts, and I couldn’t be more excited! Tom has been amazing and really spearheading the construction part of this process. I will come in more when we have to pick out the design details on the tail end of the project.

And George is loving all the construction stuff. He was home with Tom most of last week when they were digging, so he had a blast watching it all.

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