April Progress Toward Goals

I'm a little behind here (on everything except baby boy related!) but that's ok.  My last 6 weeks have been filled with an insane amount of happiness and so much love I think my heart could bust at any moment.  We have been blessed with such a sweet, happy little baby.  All I seem to get done these days is staring at his beautiful little face and touching his soft skin.  Baby Boy takes after his mom in that he doesn't need much sleep, including naps so my days are spent walking the neighborhood, rocking and hanging out with him and that's just fine. 

I have so much content I want to get on the blog so I'm just going to try and get it up when I can!  I have so many organizing projects saved up on my phone from the big move.

But, until then...

1.  Used Up Products
 Somehow I didn't have any for April!  Not sure how that happened??

2.  Books and Magazines
Since I had the baby toward the end of the month, bubble baths were my nightly friend and gave me a chance to knock up some back log of magazines. I read and tossed 14 this month

3.  Blog Posts
1 for April



4.  Get More Exercise
Obviously things slowed way down on the exercise front in April too - I was so swollen and had such back pain I could barely make it around the house!
 

January = 47.10 miles which beats last January when I got 40.71 miles (yay, me!)

February = 43.18 miles which beats last February when I got 41.11 miles (baby steps!)
March = 79.40 miles - can we say moving is a very physical activity?!

April = 43.53 (didn't even wear fitbit from 4/21-4/24 since we were at the hospital)

5.  Scrapbook Pages
April was a slow month because I was trying to a)stay off my feet b) get the house more settled c) get ready for baby but I still did manage to complete 7 pages in Carter's pre-baby book (the 9 months leading up to his arrival)

Fantabulous Cricut Challenge #276 - Things with Wings

Hello from babyland bliss!

Our little man is 4 weeks old today - how is that possible?!  I have been knee deep in getting thank you cards sent and wanted to share my latest card creation - the airplane theme is a nod to Daddy's private pilot license and to baby boy's nursery.  My baby thank you is also perfect timing for this week's challenge of "things with wings"!

It took forever to put these all together - I made probably 50 in all - it wasn't so bad except for the tiny accents on the plane!  To create, I used the Baby Steps cartridge to cut the onesie and the Cricut Lite Cartridge B is for Boy to get the airplane.  The "thank you" stamp is from the My Pink Stamper collection.

Thanks for stopping by!

March Progress Toward Goals

Well, we have arrived at the month of BABY!  It seems so hard to believe how fast the last 9 months went.  When I see pictures of myself pre-baby I have to wonder if I'll ever be the same size again!  I was doing great with the Beachbody Diet up until I got pregnant so I hope to start that again.  Of course, none of that matters right now and all we are focused on is meeting baby boy! 

The month of March flew by with moving and getting situated in the new house and getting our old house ready for sale (it's under contract praise the lord!).  I also FINALLY got to decorate the nursery!  I'll share more on that later. 

1.  Used up Products

 

I made a lot of progress here in March!  Like I said last month, after seeing how much I had to move, I am totally committed to keeping down the purchases!  A lot of the items I used up this month are things that I already had duplicates of or would repurchase when the time comes.

1. Tree Hut Epsom Salt in Tropical Mango - LOVE this scent.  I've been using it when I take a long bath in hopes that the epsom salt helps with the pregnancy swelling.
2. Burt's Bees Mame Bee Nourishing Body Oil - this was just way too messy and runny for me.  Glad to see it go 
3. Neutrogena Eye Make up remover - already repurchased
4. Bath & Body Works Beautiful Day Lotion - LOVE this but using up other products now
5. Bath & Body Works LUSH Pink Travel Lotion - great scent but using up other products now
6. Bath & Body Works Pink Champagne Hand Soap - LOVE the bottle, over the scent
7. Soap & Glory the Righteous Butter Body Butter - this has been a staple at night after I shower.  I like how thick and creamy the lotion is and it's got the perfect amount of scent.
8. Makeup Forever Mascara - alright but using up other products now

2.  Books and Magazines

I went through 7 magazines and 1 book.  I also finished Audible Books - Love Life by Rob Lowe (not as good as his other book) and Lady on the Hill about the Biltmore Estate. 

3.  Blog Posts

• 2 for March

4.  Get More Exercise

January = 47.10 miles which beats last January when I got 40.71 miles (yay, me!)

February = 43.18 miles which beats last February when I got 41.11 miles (baby steps!)
March = 79.40 miles - can we say moving is a very physical activity?!

5.  Scrapbook Pages

I wish I had time right now to be working on my scrapbooks!  Adam helped me unbox the last few boxes in the scrapbook room over the weekend and I pretty much have everything where it goes but I haven't even thought about jumping back in now!  My goal is just to get a few pictures ordered to be able to finish the pages I started back in early February. 

February Progress on Goals

Life is just flying by!  We hit 32-weeks on the baby calendar and I am shocked how fast this pregnancy is going.  Being pregnant in the fall/winter is definitely the way to do it!  Moving while 8-months pregnant is probably not my best idea but things happen for a reason, right??  

I haven't been as "on track" with my goals lately, there's just too much to take care of.  But I'm still making an effort where I can!

1.  Used up Products

Ok, I am seriously cracking the whip on myself on this one - especially after packing up boxes and boxes of beauty products... while my husband watched.. and commented on each item... and told me I looked like a product hoarder.  So, honey, I vow, no more product purchases until I work through my stash!!!

Alas, I do have a few that I used up in February:

• Large bottle of Victoria's Secret Love Spell hand sanitizer.  I had this on my desk at work and use it often so it was nice to have the bigger bottle.
• Travel size Beautiful Day lotion from Bath & Body Works - did anyone else see they changed this to a blue color?  They swear at the store it's the same scent but I'm not convinced.  
• Ulta Beautiful Lengths mascara - very wet and clumpy - this was free with a purchase I made around the holidays
• Smashbox Full Exposure mascara - I use to LOVE this mascara - not sure what changed but I wasn't sad to use up my last one
• Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation - tried and true and already repurchased
• Ponds Cold Cream Cleanser - I only used about half of this product - just couldn't get into it

 2. Books & Magazines

I packed up all my books with the exception of baby related ones so I was working through some magazines.  I also threw away a huge stack of magazines I found in the back of a cabinet from several years ago.  For February, I read 7 magazines and no books.

 3.  Blog Posts

• 1 for February

4.  Get More Exercise

January = 47.10 miles which beats last January when I got 40.71 miles (yay, me!)

February = 43.18 miles which beats last January when I got 41.11 miles (baby steps!) 

5.  Scrapbook Pages

I wish I had time right now to be working on my scrapbooks!  I did go ahead and start Baby Gray's book - it's going to be a combination of Project Life and traditional scrapbooking.  For February, I completed 7 pages.  

Side note - these are almost all of my completed scrapbooks moved to the new house!  It was a full SUV moving these babies and they are HEAVY!  They all fill up the 3 boxes to the right.  Today, I have the shelf in my car that they get loaded back into in their new home.  These make me happy just looking at the picture! 

We are moving!

What a journey the last 8 months have been!  As someone that's been "keeping an eye out" for the perfect house since we basically moved into our current home in Ooltewah, I knew I had found IT in August.  The house had just gone on the market and was FSBO.  We called and made an appointment to see the house right away and it was love at first sight for sure.  The house is similar to our current one in several ways - layout, open kitchen to keeping room, full basement, etc - but there's so many other things that are just perfect for us.  Also, the house is in Cleveland which is closer to both of our workplaces and in a beautiful neighborhood.  The yard is also great for Henderson and Baby Gray. 

We made an offer the first part of August - mind you, before we were pregnant, and we knew we had made a low offer BUT it was also based on what had recently sold in the neighborhood/area and we expected a counteroffer.  Well, the sellers didn't counter and that was pretty much it.  Or was it.... for months, I checked daily to see if the house was still for sale and I may have driven by a time or two.  

In the meantime, we found out we were expecting!  I kept pining over the house and we decided to reach back out to the sellers the first weekend in January.  They hadn't had much activity on the house over the holidays and were gearing up to list with a Realtor come spring.  We told them our offer still stood and they made a counter offer! Their counter was much less than we were expecting so we were very happy to accept.  About the second week in January, my parents came down to help me get all my Christmas decor put away and we started packing up things at our house and getting it ready to list.  During January we had 3-4 showings but we've had ZERO in February.  

There were also some hiccups along the way with the new house and getting though underwriting - no appraisers would accept the job!  It went thru 8 declines before one would accept - apparently no one wanted to do a little extra work in finding comparables in the area.  We lost a week waiting for someone to take the job and then we had to wait for the appraisal to come back.. and then it did.  The house appraised for 30k less than the contract price so I had to be the one to call and break the news to the seller.  He was so defensive and it was SUCH an awkward call.  It was good news in theory for us because it meant we could potentially pay less than expected but bad news too because the sellers could either dispute it or remain at their price meaning we would have to pay the difference in cash on the day of closing.  Adam and I were neither one willing to pay more than the appraisal price so we were back to waiting to hearing from the sellers.  Funny thing is, the appraisal price was $10k more than our initial offer back in August... had they accepted then, they wouldn't have been paying mortgage for 8 additional months and I wouldn't be moving at 8 months pregnant!

We finally worked through the appraisal and the loan was unoficially sent to underwriting.  The loan company had additional questions on the comparables used so we had another "delay of game" all while getting closer and closer to our planned closing date of March 1 - talk about stressful!

But alas, we were cleared to close 4 days before closing date!  We closed on March 1 and I was able to get utitlies switched to our name and we got to go see our new home sweet home!  We had pre-loaded the van and my car so we could start dropping off loads on our way to/from work so we made our first unloading trip and I took pictures of all the rooms - I'll share as we get everything all settled.  

I even had painters scheduled to be there at 8am on the 2nd and I have all the bathrooms and bedrooms repainted - they look amazing!  Just wait until you see the pictures.  I am most excited about getting Baby Gray's nursery set up - furniture is FINALLY being delivered next week and we are moving moving next Saturday.  The chaos has officially arrived!

Our new home!

   

January Progress Report

This was the month of big decisions!  Adam and I have so much going on and so much to look forward to.  Today marks 28 weeks on the baby calendar!  I am officially in my 3rd trimester and Baby Boy is moving around so much!  Last night he kicked so hard it literally startled me.  We have our first baby shower this weekend and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and celebrating this fun time.  

I have been in major clean-out, de-clutter mode around the house.  I wouldn't call it nesting, just yet, anyway.  It sure does feel good to get rid of some things tho!  

As I mentioned in my last post, I think I'm going to stick with the same goals for 2016.  So here goes for January --

 

 

 

1.  Used up Products

 

 

1. Olay Body Wash in Creme Ribbons - this has been a favorite for probably 10 years - I know I used it in college.  I wish I had enough self control to only buy and use it vs the 100 different scents I end up with from Bath and Body Works!  I'm not letting myself open another until I move out some Bath and Body Works shower gels now. 
2. Clinique Bamboo Pink lipstick
3. Soap & Glory Righteous Butter - I needed a thicker body butter with being pregnant and this def. fits the bill.  I tried the Mama Bee Body Butter but I couldn't handle the smell.  The Soap & Glory lotion has just a light scent but it really appeals to me.  It's great to use after a shower.
4. Cherry Blossom Sangria Candle - I've been using this just when I'm taking a long bath and the scent is amazing!
5. Simple Cleansing Micellar Water - ok, this bottle isn't "used up" but I can't handle it any longer.  I've given it months to impress me and I'm just over it.  Give me regular rubbing alcohol to cleanse my face with anyday over this product.
6. Laura Mercier Beige Ivory foundation
7. Stow Away lip sticks in Raspberry and Cranberry.  These came in one of my Pop Sugar boxes and I gave each one shot and looked like a clown.  The color is just way too over powering for me.  Passing these on to my mom to see if she is interested in trying them. 

2.  Books & Magazine

• I read and tossed 19 magazines this month.  I attribute so many to waking up super early on the weekends and laying in bed for a bit before facing the day!  Also, our house has been super clean so I haven't had to spend much time on the evenings putting things away so I have more free time!  
• I also read 2 books this month - Mary Higgins Clark "I Heard that Song Before" and "The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy."  It took me a while to get thru the Girlfriends book, I just really didn't care for the author and her tone.

 

3.  Blog Posts

• 2 for the month

4.  Get More Exercise

• January = 47.10 miles which beats last January when I got 40.71 miles (yay, me!)

 

5.  Scrapbook Progress

I may have to adjust my expectations this year on scrapbooking!  January was spent making 50+ baby thank you cards and starting the Baby's ABC book.  I also purchased the Baby Boy Project Life core kit and started working on laying out the "before he's born" pages -- I think I have about 20 pages (most are traditional vs pocket style pages) ready to scrapbook that will catch up from when we found out we were pregnant to now, 28 weeks. 

Goal Wrap-Up for the Year

Here we are, halfway through the first month of a new year!  What a year it's going to be too.  Our Baby Boy is about 95 days away from his due date and Adam and I have lots of chaos going on between now and then, more about that in another post.  I still feel good about the goals I'm setting but I definitely need more self-discipline!  I'm proud that I was able to get back to using the elliptical on a 2-3 time per week basis but I can still do better about getting more exercise, especially now that I'm pregnant and that's the last thing on my mind.  I worked through quite a few beauty products at the house BUT I need to seriously stop purchasing these items and keep narrowing down my stock pile!  I'm finding that lotions and scents don't seem to last as long as they use to so I'm having to throw them out.  Along those lines, I just went thru my pantry and had SO much food that was way expired - so, is it better to buy when it's a deal or just buy things as you need them?  I have some work to do on that front in 2016.

I didn't get through as many actual books as I would have liked this year but did get through a lot of magazines.  I also canceled my newspaper subscription which has eliminated tons of papers around the house and I'm not going to be tempted by weekly ads now hopefully.  

I ALMOST beat my scrapbook page total from 2014, so close!  I'm happy with what I did get complete in 2015 but of course, would love to be completely caught up!  Don't see that happening anytime soon now.  I'm starting now in January 2012 which puts me 3 full years behind.  Sigh.  

So here's to another great year with lots of exciting things/changes ahead!  Happy 2016!          

Used Up Products:

Would Re-purchase

·           2 - Clinique High Impact Mascara

·           2 - Lancome lash prep mascara

·           Too Faced Mascara

·           Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

·           3 - Blistex lip gloss

·           2 - Clinique Bamboo Pink lip stick

·           Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation in Hazelnut Beige

·           Purity face wash from Philosophy

·           Redken Satinwear 02

·           Fusion Hair Spray

·           Quiver Hand Soap from Scentsy

·           Bath and Body Works Lush Pink travel size Shower gel

·           Bath and Body Works Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin Body Lotion

Would NOT Re-purchase

·           3 - It's a 10 Miracle Moisture Shampoo

·           It’s a 10 Conditioner

·           Biomega Smoothing Elixir

·           White Sands Glaze Plus Medium Hold Hair Product

·           Victoria's Secret Endless Love shower gel

·           Bath & Body Works Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin Golden Sugar Scrub

·           Bubble Bath

·           4 - Bath & Body Works Travel hand soaps in Paris, Midnight Pomegranate, Fresh Sparking Snow and Beautiful Day

·           Bath and Body Works Japanese Blossom Body Cream  

·           Bath & Body Works Brown Sugar and Fig Shower Gel

·           Bath & Body Works Brown Sugar and Fig Body Cream

·           Misty Mountain Spiced Cranberry Hand & Body Lotion

·           Bath Salts from our honeymoon to French Polynesia

·           Mama Bee Belly Butter

·           Laura Mercier Foundation Primer in radiance

·           Burt's Bees lip product

·           Tarte lip stick

·           Tarte Eye Lash Primer

·           NARS Orgasm blush

·           Blue Nyxx eye liner

·           Glitzy Tarte Lip Surgence

·           Smashbox Full Exposure mascara

·           Bliss Fabulous Foaming face wash 

·           2 broken blush brushes

Books & Magazine:

·           121 magazines (72 magazines in 2014)

·           5 books (22 books in 2014)

·           18 Audible books (7 audiobooks in 2014)

•         Upstairs at the White House:  My Life with the First Ladies

•         Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope

•         Entwined with You (Crossfire, #3)

•         Captivated by You (Crossfire, #4) 

•         Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies and the Making of a Medical Examiner

•         Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

•         Sea Swept, Book 1 by Nora Roberts

•         Grey by E.L. James

•         Books 2 and 3 of the Chesapeake Bay saga by Nora Roberts

•         The Selection #1, The Elite #2, The One #3 and The Heir #4

•         Uganda be Kidding Me by Chelsea Handler

•         Happily Ali After by Ali Wentworth  

·           The Glitter and the Gold by Consuelo Vanderbilt Baslan

·           The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty

Blog Posts:

23 for the year (27 in 2014)

Exercise:

677.43 miles (705.38 miles in 2014)

Scrapbook Pages:

438 pages

In 2013, my scrapbook page goal was 200.  In 2014, my goal was 300 and my total page count for the year was 447 pages!  This year I scrapbooked from July 2011 – January 2013 and all of our Europe trip this summer.  Would really have liked to get more, especially now with baby on the way, but work, travel and life come first!  At least everything related to the wedding (planning, engagement, wedding, honeymoon) are already completed from 2012/2013 so that just leaves the normal events/holidays/trips to scrapbook.