Mini Catch Up

I feel like nothing much has been going on here since last week when we put our house on the market.  We've kept the house clean, which is a small miracle.  But the long weekend came and went with no showings.  It gets discouraging to clean everyday with no one coming by to see it.  Although our realtor did e-mail to tell us that our house has had a lot of hits on the real estate website in a very short time.  Hopefully that will translate to foot traffic soon.  But I don't think I mentioned that there are three other houses on the market on our street alone.

This weekend we spent a lot of time around the house, going to the park, and took the kids bowling.  They loved bowling, especially Ryan.  I wish I had snapped some photos, but I had my hands pretty full with the kids at the bowling alley.

We've been enjoying grilling out a lot lately.  I always enjoy cook out foods and it makes for pretty easy clean up.

The only other thing that is new is that I'm feeling completely exhausted lately.  I don't remember this feeling with the boys.  I must not be sleeping well, even though I fall asleep easily every night.  But the good news is that I'm officially full term.  

So that is the not so exciting details of what's been going on around here.  I have the feeling that this is just the calm before the storm.  We'll see ;)

For Sale

The past few days have been pretty hard around my house.  Sunday and Monday were spent frantically cleaning getting everything ready to put our house on the market.  I probably had a few meltdowns although those days are pretty much a blur.  Pat even came home during lunch on Monday (super rare) just to knock out a few tasks with me.  Both of those nights, I went to bed feeling like my hips were being torn apart like a wishbone.  But in the end, we signed the contracts to list our house for sale on Monday night.

It's kind of scary now that it's official.  I worry because the kids and I may potentially be moving far in advance of Pat.  Not only does that make me sad, but logistically that's going to be difficult.  

I will give us a bit of credit that I've never had a house so clean.  At least half of our possessions are in storage, so we are living with the bare necessities (as much as you can with two little boys).  I actually like the routine of making the beds and vacuuming every morning.  But that isn't to say it's easy.  I'm finding quite a bit of stress every time the kids touch anything or spill anything.  I know I'm being crazy and need to relax a bit, but I just hate selling and cannot wait to be done with it.  

As I said, we did a great job of cleaning the house out, but it has been seriously crazy.  I would not be lying to tell you that I'm driving my minivan around with two baskets of clean laundry in it that I haven't had time to fold and put away.  My mission this weekend is to get ahead on the laundry.  

So here is hoping for a quick sale to save what remains of my sanity, and hoping that my husband will move with our family quickly after the sale.  

Crazy, Crying Mothers

I'm joining the ranks of what I would have called the crazy, crying mothers.  As school winds down for the year,  my facebook feed saw a common post among many "friends":  posts about how they were going to cry and needed pockets full of tissues because their kids were graduating pre-k.  Upon reading these you could cue my eye roll.

It does pain me how fast my kids are growing up.  But seriously, accepting the fact that every year the kids move up a year in school is a reality we need to accept.  I thought these moms were being a bit melodramatic.

That was until I went to pick Ryan up from his last day of preschool on Friday.  As I watched his teachers say goodbye to him, I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes.  Sure, I'm hormonal, and I'm also a very emotional person.  However, for me this goodbye is about more than the fact that my child is moving up in the school world and growing up.  First, it is true that I hate goodbyes, but I find the real sadness in the fact that we are moving away from this school.  For the past two years this school and his teachers have filled a role in Ryan's life that I would not have been able to fill by myself.  This school provided him a stability that is hard to come by in the military lifestyle.  We have two years of memories with this school.  I'm sad that he will not be able to attend with his friends next year and that Sean will not get an opportunity to experience these teachers and this school.

I know that we're going where we are meant to be, and there will be great opportunities waiting for each of us at our new home.  But it's still sad to say goodbye and move away, after all watching them grow up is hard enough.

(Ryan was really excited about bringing his lunchbox for the picnic on the last day.)

Quick Toilet Talk

On my To Do page, one of the items listed is "find better systems to keep a clean and organized house."  So I wanted to share a trick I learned because it has literally saved a bit of my sanity.

It's going to get a little gross around here now with toilet talk.

At this house we've had a terrible time keeping the toilet bowls free from stains.  It's actually crazy.  I've never seen toilets stain so quickly.  When we replaced the flooring in the bathrooms earlier this year, we even bought new toilets thinking maybe it was the old ones being prone to stains.

It wasn't the old toilets.  The new ones are staining terribly too.  It was so bad that I couldn't get one of them clean this weekend, and since we're busting our butts to get the house on the market that is a problem.

So after looking for tricks on the internet, I found one that worked and was super easy.

Here's how I got a sparkling, clean toilet because I know you're dying to know.
1.  Turn off water to the bowl and flush the water so that your water level is lower than normal.  (It didn't really lower my water level much and then it won't flush anymore without water in the tank, but I just went with it anyway.)
2.  I added the remaining distilled white vinegar I had from dyeing our Easter eggs to the toilet bowl.  I had probably 3/4 of a one liter bottle left.
3.  Let it sit over night.  The only hard part is remembering to go to another bathroom in the middle of the night if you have to go.
4.  Use a toilet brush and scrub it clean in the morning.  All the yuck came right off easily.  It was incredibly how easy this was and how great it worked.

So hopefully someone else finds this little tip as useful as I did.

Show Us Your Life: Expecting Moms

Today I'm linking up at Kelly's Korner Show Us Your Life: Expecting Moms.

I've done a few updates here and there throughout my pregnancy on the blog, but for those stopping by for the first time, here is a little catch up.

I'm currently almost 36 weeks pregnant!  Yikes, it's almost hard to believe I'm that far and almost done, well except for the fact that it feels like I've been pregnant forever.

I have two little boys ages 4 and 2, and the doctors say we're expecting a little girl.  I'm still a little nervous that since we're planning and expecting a girl and that it will end up a boy.  I love being a boy mom; I just don't love surprises so I'm hoping she really is a she.  

Our little boys are getting pretty excited about the baby, especially our oldest who was hoping for a baby girl.

So how's this pregnancy going?
It's been a great pregnancy.  I think I can say that now that morning (all day) sickness is over.  Physically on my body I feel like this has been the hardest of my pregnancies.  I'm not sure if it's because this is my third, or just because I'm getting older.  I seem to be feeling the aches and pains a lot earlier in this pregnancy than my others.  I'm definitely waddling around now.  It certainly doesn't help that I've probably gained more weight with this pregnancy than with my boys.  You would think by the third time I would have learned my lesson about gaining weight, right?  Well, I guess I don't have as much control as I thought.  I like to claim it's because my body is carrying a girl differently than the boys though.  Sleep is okay right now.  The only discomforts I have is a bit of pressure in my groin by the end of the day from carrying the baby and the baby pressing on my bladder causing me to feel like I need to pee literally every 10 minutes.

Want my confession about pregnancy though?  I am thankful for this baby inside of me and know I'm very lucky, but I do NOT enjoy pregnancy all that much.  Sure I enjoy feeling the baby inside me.  But overall I don't feel strong when I'm pregnant.  I wish I were one of the woman that loved pregnancy, glowed, and can say they never felt better.  I'm not one of those woman, but I am one of those people that loves the newborn stage though.  Give me the sleep deprivation and nursing around the clock of a newborn baby over pregnancy any day.  

As if keeping up with my two little boys and being about 9 months pregnant isn't enough, have I mentioned that we're putting our house on the market next week and planning a big and chaotic move shortly after the baby arrives?  Yup, we're kind of crazy.  I posted a sneak peek at our nursery plans for the new house HERE though if you want to see.

So in a few short weeks we'll be welcoming our baby girl into our home.  She's already in our hearts, but I cannot wait to meet here.  I hope you'll follow along this journey.  I look forward to introducing her to everyone and telling you all about her.

Shopping Sabotage

Pat and my anniversary is coming up next month.  And just after our anniversary comes Father's day.  While Pat and I aren't always big gift givers, this year there is something special I want to buy for Pat.  It doesn't help that my husband has expensive taste though.  I'm trying my hardest to save money, but I feel like my efforts are being sabotaged left and right.

A big part of the sabotage is self inflicted.  I've caught myself spending money quite a bit lately, especially on beauty products.  I think splurging on the beauty aids helps me feel better about myself while I'm feeling a bit big and waddling around.  Recent examples of my spending are below:

I've also been stalking diaper clutches and ruffled bags like these online.  Thankfully I've had self-restraint from sending in any orders.

Found HERE/ HERE / HERE

And just as I'm struggling with my spending urges, you cannot imagine the temptation that was in my inbox this morning.  Somehow I got an e-mail from Birchbox offering me 20% off my next purchase.  I don't even subscribe to the monthly Birchbox thing. I quickly browsed the site and found a few items I'd been wanting to try.  It was going to be free shipping plus 20% off.  I had my cart ready to go and card in hand when I came to my senses and closed out the browser window.

It wasn't 20 minutes later that I received an e-mail about an exclusive online Coach Factory sale with 20% off and free shipping.  Thankfully I knew I didn't need anything there, and I would have  no justification for buying anything.  It didn't stop me from looking though.

So maybe now that I realize I have a problem, I'll be able to overcome it.  Although I know it will be challenging...

Especially because the saving sabotage doesn't end with me.  Pat found a nail in his tire yesterday and we now know he needs all new tires.  Arrrghhh!!!  If it's not one thing, it's another.   I'll let you know in June if I accomplish my goal of getting Pat the present he deserves.  In the meantime I'd love to hear about your shopping and maybe I can live vicariously through you ;)

Decorating a Nursery Sneak Peek

One of the fun things about expecting a new baby is decorating the nursery.  Unfortunately I haven't really experienced that part of having a baby despite already having two little boys.

You see, with Ryan we knew we were moving when we had him.  Our house was already on the market, and in fact I was in the hospital waiting to be discharged when my husband was graduating from the Captain Career Course.  We moved just over a month later.

When we arrived at Ft. Campbell there was already a baby blue room, and since Pat was leaving to deploy shortly, we decided to just hang a few things on the wall and call the nursery complete.

When we were pregnant with Sean, our life was a bit crazy.  Pat was working such long hours we hardly saw him.  Our life and plans were up in the air, and I guess we figured that since we didn't really give Ryan a proper nursery, it wouldn't be fair to go all out for Sean.  Plus his room was also the spare bedroom.

So neither boy got a fully decorated nursery.  That is something that I wanted so badly to change this time around.  I wanted to experience the decorating phase.  BUT here we are again...putting our house on the market (within the week--eeek!) and planning a move.

Since the baby will be in our room for a while in a bassinet, I'm hoping that the timing of the move falls into place so that I can finally and for once decorate a baby room the way I want.

And of course, rather than cleaning for our house to be sold, I'm working on the nursery decor.  (Remember, a few months ago I did the whole bust my butt to get my house on the market thing until our orders were DELETED.  I'm putting Pat in charge of it this time.)
So I wanted to give you a little sneak peak of a few aspects for the nursery that I hope to decorate at our next location.

*The lighting on the paint color is a bit off in the photo...it's kind of a bright green in reality.

I also look forward to showing you some of the projects I'm doing with the spray paint.

And don't think that I'm neglecting the boys' rooms at the next house.  Although, the plans for them are dependent on how many bedrooms the next house has and if they will share a room.  Sean wants a blue room and Ryan would like a purple room.  I'm fairly confident I'll be able to find an in between color that will please both of them if they are sharing.

It's exciting to think about painting the next house and really make it our own.  Although. I wish everything was timed differently, because I know it's going to be hurried, hectic, and overwhelming trying to get up there and settled the way this move is playing out.  But for now I'll just focus on the fun and exciting parts...like paint colors ;)

Military Spouse Appreciation Day

Today in honor of Military Spouse Appreciation Day, I'm joining together with some amazing bloggers, friends, and fellow MilSpouses to honor the Military Spouse Community.  During my time blogging, I've come to find that fellow Military Spouses are incredibly supportive, and whether you've met them in real life or not you can still consider them friends.

I hope you'll hop around and say hello.  I'd love to make some new friends and follow along with your adventures.

If you're new here, let me quickly introduce myself.

I'm Shelly. My husband is Active Duty Army.  We've been married for almost 8 years (next month!).  We have two little boys 4 years and 2 years.  In June we will be welcoming a little girl to our family.  It's quite an exciting time.

But as the typical MilSpouse knows, you have to be flexible, write everything in pencil, and pretty much have super powers to survive.  The Army has thrown a few curveballs at us recently too.
*We're putting our house on the market just weeks before having a new baby.
*The kids and I will be moving away early so that our oldest can start the school year at our next location.
*We'll have to move most of the household goods ourselves because we are going early.
And that is just to name a few of the upcoming challenges.

Mostly I blog about what is going on in my life.  I sometimes complain, but I try to find the positive in the difficult situations.  I know I have a very blessed life.  This is my outlet to express my feelings, wants, likes, stories of my kids, and just talk about whatever comes to me.

You can read more about me HERE.  Or you can find me on pinterest and instagram (@shellymotto) by clicking the icons in my sidebar!

I look forward to meeting you and visiting your blog.

34 Weeks Update

I know I don't do pregnancy updates regularly, but not all that much changes week to week and I think it would get boring.

But I'm approaching the end of this pregnancy....slowly, but surely.  It feels like I've been pregnant for a very long time, but sometimes I cannot believe how soon we'll be meeting our little girl.

I know black isn't the best for seeing the bump, but they say black is slimming.  And considering I'm getting to be as big as a house, I think I need to try anything I can to minimize my size.

So what's new?

• I think my weigh gain is slowing down.  (Although I only get on a scale when I have to, and since my doctor appointments are so few and far between that isn't often.)  I gained weight really fast with this baby girl at the beginning, and now slower at the end, which is exactly opposite of how it was with the boys. 
• I'm still craving cantaloupe and strawberries.  
• I'm having a hard time moving around, but that is mostly because I am so fat that my body is having trouble carrying all that weight.  
• I have braxton hicks contractions when I'm up and about, but they stop completely when I sit down or rest.  
• Baby moves around and pushes on my tummy a lot, especially when I am laying on my side in the evening.  
• My energy is okay.  I am not sleeping all that well between the kids, dogs, sicknesses, and having to pee.  So I'm pretty sure I'd be feeling tired no matter what.  

So there you have it.  Just over a month until baby should arrive, and we're all getting excited.  I need to start washing clothes and buying diapers I suppose.

Fears

Lately, I've been having trouble letting go of my fear and worries.  I'm not just a worry wart you see, it's more that all these big, huge life events are hitting all at once, and it is overwhelming.  Although everything happening at once is the way life seems to work though, doesn't it?

Just a few examples of the stuff I'm stressing over are:
*Putting our house on the market 4 weeks before we have a new baby.
*Managing to get and keep our house clean to have it on the market.
*Welcoming a new baby and learning how to be a mom of 3.
*Worry about the baby being healthy.
*Moving away without my husband as a new mom of 3 to a new town, house, area, and being responsible for settling our family in.
*Figuring out the logistics for moving the household items we need before the Army moves my husband.
I could go on and on, but I am sure you get the picture.

When thinking about these fears in my life, I remembered a pin I saw on pinterest about fear.  You gotta love pinterest ;)

Sometimes I think we all need a reminder that our faith can overcome our fear.  We have a place to turn, and we are not alone.  While times may seem challenging and almost impossible during the struggle, we will get through them.  Perseverance makes you a stronger person.  While I am still fearful of all these tasks in front of me, I have faith that I can handle it.  I know there will be times when I am feeling low and not handling myself in a very graceful manner, but I am human and I falter.  I just have to keep my faith strong, my head high, and try my best.  

This too shall pass, and I have faith that I am on the path to a better and more joyous place.  

When Running Away Isn't an Option

Lately I've been pretty shameful as a mom.  My fuse seems to be so short before I lose my temper.  I know I'm not acting like myself.  If I were to tell you the truth behind my shortcomings as of late, it would sound like I'm complaining.  I'm going to share anyway and hope you don't think I'm an awful complainer.

I'm feeling absolutely tired.  I feel like I'm not rested when I wake up in the morning.  I'm huge in both a pregnant and a fat way, or at least that is how my body feels.  I know pregnancy is supposed to be around 40 weeks, so it has always annoyed me when people start complaining about "feeling done" way early.  I tried so hard with the boys not to make any complaints because I knew the end was coming.  Somehow, I'm finding it so hard to make it to the end this time around without complaining.  I'll be 34 weeks Monday, and I'm not sure if my body is just weaker this time around or if it is that much harder to be taking care of the two boys while being pregnant.  I don't know how the moms of large households do it over so many times.  Now please, don't get me wrong, I am so grateful for this baby growing inside of me.  And I hope she stays there until she is ready to come out (or the doctors decide she is ready).  Some who know me in real life know that I do not take this for granted, so please don't get that impression.  I'm just saying it feels hard this time around.

Pat is away this weekend attending a memorial service for a fallen comrade from his last deployment.  The boys and I are making it just fine without him, which is really great considering I'm cranky.  Unfortunately last night didn't go so well.  Sean just wouldn't go to sleep, which isn't usually a problem for him.  Finally at 11 p.m. I just let him climb into my bed.  I figured if I was sleeping alone, I had plenty of room for him.  How is it that this little boy pushes me to the edge of my king sized bed no matter how much room there?  Thank goodness when I got up to move to the other side I placed a pillow on the ground below him.  (Yup, I deserve Mom of the Year!)  Sure enough 20 minutes later, Sean rolled right out of bed.  He hardly woke up to it.  I pulled him back up into the center of the bed.  Sean was pretty whinny through the night, kicking and flailing.  Let me tell you how nice it is to sleep right next to a flailing 2 year old.  During the night I woke up with my throat killing me.  I wasn't sure if it was because of the air conditioner blowing or if I was getting sick, AGAIN.  Considering that my head is throbbing this morning, I'd have to say I'm either sick again or having a relapse.

All I could think about as I laid in bed too uncomfortable to sleep (b/c of the throat) was how if I lived near family, I would surely go hide out at their house as soon as Pat gets home.  The things is I'm not sure how to get a break around here even when Pat is home.  If I stay home the kids inevitably get to me.  They can unlock all the door of the house.  Yes, talented little boys they are!  And I don't want to spend money, so trips to Target just feel pointless.  When I've tried to soak in the bathtub, I've ended up with two naked boys peeing in the water.  What I need is somewhere to run away to.  Hopefully I'll be able to do that when we move closer to family later this year.

And now since the sneezing has started, I need to just try my best to not pee myself.  Yes, that is actually a bit challenging these days.  It's a bit rainy today so hopefully we'll be able to lay low and relax.  I look forward to curling up with a cup of tea and listening to the giggles from the boys.  Elmo, Dora, and Umizoomi Apps for the ipad and iphone just may be my saving grace today.

Have a great weekend everyone!

High Five for Friday

I am linking up with Lauren at From My Grey Desk  for the High Five for Friday.  You can recap your five highlights of the week and link up too.

1.  Despite a middle of the night vomit session, Ryan seems to be feeling just fine this morning.  And this kid is a rockstar at making it to the toilet to get sick, which I find impressive for a 4 year old.

2.  Pat and I started to refinish a nightstand for our bedroom, which by the way is one of the tasks on my To Do list.  Unfortunately, we've hit a few snags in our plan, but hopefully I'll have some progress pictures soon.

3.  I enjoyed an evening trip to Target BY MYSELF!  I looked at regular clothes and even splurged buying myself some comfy pj pants for after baby girl arrives.  I have to say I'm looking forward to feeling like I own my body a little more, and possibly fitting into normal clothes sometime in the near future.  

4.  I got a new blog design this week.  I really love it.  Go check out my blog designer, Brea, over at Utterly Chaotic because she is awesome!

5.  I have a new found love for Rimmel London Lasting Finish Pro nail polish for my toes.  I received the one on the right, Steel Grey, from a blog swap a while ago and just got around to trying it out.  I am super impressed.  The brush is wide and makes applying it so easy and clean.  The coverage is great; two coats were perfect.  It has been a week and a half and I have no noticeable chips and they still shine like I just painted them.  Plus have I mentioned that this polish only costs $4?  I'm no nail polish junky, but I really do appreciate a polish that lasts a long time so I don't have to repaint too often.  I picked up the color on the left, English Rose, during my trip to Target to brighten up for the spring.   

I hope you'll link up your High Five for Friday!

Refreshed!

For a while now I haven't been feeling like myself.  I feel like I'm going through the motions of everything, but my heart and head are somewhere else.  It's probably been evident in my blog posts for a while now.

I needed to get back to me.  

And what better way to start feeling refreshed than by getting a makeover, right?  While my wardrobe could certainly use one, I thought I'd better start with my blog (especially since I'm hugely pregnant right now;)

I had noticed some blogs that I really liked and made note of the designer.  After a while I kept seeing more and more blogs that I just loved from this designer.  I checked out her design site and wasted no time getting on the list.  

So who is this designer, you ask?  It's Brea over at Utterly Chaotic.  She is so talented and easy to work with.  She was also super fast too.  

I honestly didn't give Brea much to work with.  I told her a few of her designs that I liked.  I also said I liked "simple, classic, and somewhat modern" and gave her a color palette.  That was it.  You can imagine my anticipation to open the first draft, given that I hadn't provided her many details.    As soon as I looked at it though I was in love.  I could not have imagined a better design for what I wanted to capture.  

I feel like a big part of me and my spirit is back on my blog.  I look forward to getting back to me, and hope you'll enjoy reading along, especially now that it looks so pretty around here.

A huge thank you to Brea for the wonderful design and all her hard work.  If anyone needs a little face lift at their place, Utterly Chaotic is the place to get it!!!

A Disorganized Mom

During Pat's last deployment I started drinking coffee.  I had never been enthused at the smell/taste of coffee prior to the deployment, but for some reason I found myself CRAVING coffee.  I guess I needed whatever boost I could find while taking care of two little boys by myself.  The morning cup (and sometimes afternoon cup too) helped me start my day.

After Pat got home I stopped drinking coffee as much.  I'm not sure if it was the weather warming up, less need for caffeine, or just that things were changing so much that my routine adjusted too.

With pregnancy I do not drink coffee at all, and I suspect it will be a long time before I indulge in a daily morning cup since I will be nursing too.  I have to wonder if that cup of coffee was the secret weapon I needed to stay organized.

I've found this past school year, I have been such a disorganized Mom.  Ryan has preschool 3 days a week and goes to speech therapy appointments the other two mornings.  Me and the two boys are running out the door 5 days a week.  And I literally mean running out the door because we are almost always running behind.  It doesn't matter what I do to prepare for the morning, I'm always a step behind when it comes time to go.  I'd love to blame this on my pregnancy, but I'm just not sure that it will be any better when it is me and three kids running out every morning.  While I hate this 5 morning a week schedule, I know that I better get used to it because before long Ryan will start school 5 days a week.  No matter how much I want to keep my kids as babies, they're growing up, and I need to get organized to keep up.  

I'm sick of feeling disorganized and like I'm always running behind.  With only 3 weeks left of the school year though, I'm okay living in denial and believing that it will all be better next year once I'm in the swing of things with three kids.  A mom can dream right?