Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Too Much to Post About!

Since my last post, I've been way too busy to write!  I've packed up everything at our old house, muscled my way into the new one (I'd NEVER use the same realtor (buyer's agent) or lender again, but where there's a will there's a way!), and mostly settled in.  I say "mostly" because Abby's nursery and the garage are still just landing zones for everything that doesn't have a home yet.

Oh yeah, speaking of Abby, we've had our baby!  Abigail Elise Philpot was born just before 11pm on October 4th, and weighed in at precisely 7 lbs, which was quite the relief since my doctor warned me at the last 3 prenatal checkups (and while I was pushing, which was just SO encouraging) that she would be a "big baby".   She is now 10 days old, perfect in every way (except for the whole gas thing which I'm totally over), and is sleeping/stretching in her boppy next to me on the couch as I type.  Madison is completely in love with her.   She calls her "Baby Abby", "my friend Baby Abby", and "my baby sister."  She loves to hold Abby (with lots of help and hand sanitizer), and gives her lots of kisses (only on the back of her head).

Having Abby when we did was a bit of a surprise.  Her due date was 10/7, and I was SOOOO ready for her to come.  One week before she was due, around noon, I started having strong, but not too painful, contractions about 6 to 7 minutes apart.  This lasted for about four hours.  After calling my OB, we decided to head into labor and delivery just in case.  Sure enough, no progress.  I wasn't dilated at all, or even effaced.  We consoled ourselves with some Carl's Jr, I vowed not to go back to the hospital again until I was DANG sure it was time, and headed back home.  Four days later, at my weekly checkup, my OB confirmed that I hadn't made any progress towards going into labor.  So when I started having contractions around noon the next day (sound familiar?), I was sure it was another false alarm.  I took a nap and decided to wait it out.  I was awoken by a painful contraction about thirty minutes later.

You'd think at this point I'd have started considering that I might be in labor, but the false alarm earlier in the week had really jacked with my confidence.  So I decided to be productive.  I packed our hospital bag, cleaned the house, balanced our checkbook and paid the bills, and made a grocery list, taking breaks during contractions.  By the time Madison woke up, the contractions were all painful and were about 6 minutes apart.  I noticed around 4:30 that I was having a hard time interacting normally with Madi during contractions and finally decided to call Pat at work.  "Hey honey, how much longer will you be at work?"  (Probably at least two hours.) "Hmm.  Well, I don't think I'm in labor or anything (dope), but I'm having painful contractions that are making it hard for me to take care of Madison.  Could you maybe try to get off a little sooner?"  (He tells me I'm in labor.)  "No, I'm sure it's another false alarm, but I could use some help.  OH!  I'llcallyoubackbye."  (He finally convinces me to call the doctor while he asks his mom to head our way to watch Madi.)

We didn't leave for the hospital until close to 7 that night.  Even between my insanely painful contractions during the almost 2 hour ride, I was telling Patrick that I was afraid they would send me home.  By the time we checked into labor and delivery and they checked me, I had dilated to 6 cm.  What a relief/shock!  Everything from that point to delivery felt like a race.  Four attempts (with one vein blowout and one success) at an IV line, one glorious epidural that didn't quite last long enough, thirty minutes of paperwork and forty minutes of pushing later, we were here:
Saturday (the day after Abigail was born) was by far the hardest day for me.  I was exhausted and in pain(for obvious reasons), and suddenly realized that with our new 1:1 parent-kid ratio, I was immediately responsible for taking care of myself and Abby.  Sooo different than with Madi, where I think I changed one diaper before we left the hospital and Patrick brought her to me for nursing.
Every day since has been a little easier than the one before.  If things keep improving at this pace, I'll probably make it through a day without thinking I'm gonna die by this time next year.  :)  But seriously, we're surviving this transition better than I feared.  I'm SOOOO ready for Abby to be a little less tiny and helpless, but we're working on that every 45 minutes in the daytime and every 3-4 hours at night (although last night I accidentally let her go 5 hrs and 10 minutes and still had a hard time waking her to nurse).


In the meantime, I'm just enjoying the sweet interaction between our two girls.  I love that Madison isn't phased by Abby's cries.  She's sympathetic (Oh!  Poor sweet baby Abby is crying!), but not alarmed or annoyed (yet).

Well, I'm off to enjoy my last cup of decaf before Madison wakes up.  Happy Wednesday!
-Kelli

Monday, June 17, 2013

Living Room Mood Board

I am sooo excited about our new house that I can't stop dreaming about how we'll decorate every space.  I've been pinning everything I like to specific boards for each room in the house so I could see all the elements together at a glance.  The problem is, my living room board got so full that I had to scroll...not good!

So I did what any obsessed (and pre-nesting)  new homeowner would do: I made my very first mood board!  Some of the items (the sofa, chair, ottomans, and possibly the pendant) are something that I definitely plan to have in the space eventually, but most are placeholders for (hopefully less expensive) future thrift finds/DIY projects.




  1. Winslow Decorative Wall Mirror- $81.99- Overstock.com found here
  2. Existing Fireplace- (similar)
  3. Threshold Mission Log Basket- $34.99- Target found here
  4. Avington Upholstered Slipper Chair- $169.99- Target found here
  5. Existing Floors
  6. Threshold Brass Gorilla- $9.99- Target found here
  7. Console Table- $129.99- Target found here
  8. Navy Geometric Rug- $329.99- Overstock found here
  9. Wire Globe Pendant- $99.99- Shades of Light found here
  10. Curtains- $32.99- Target found here
  11. Karlstad Sofa- $499- IKEA found here
  12. Navy check fabric for pillow(s)- $8.99/yd- IKEA http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90223727/
  13. Green Pillow- $25- Etsy found here
  14. Storage Ottomans- $44.99- Target found here
  15. White Tray- $9.99- IKEAfound here
  16. Paint Color- Benjamin Moore Moonshine
Making the moodboard was more time consuming, but also easier, than I expected.  I saved all the images to one folder, used Picasa (collages) to edit and arrange them, and added the number labels in GIMP (another free, but not very user-friendly image editing software).

The hardest part of the whole thing?  Without a doubt, that would be leaving my debit card safely tucked away in my wallet.  My inner cheapskate always seems to get a bit anemic when I'm pregnant, and Patrick has always been horribly indulgent; if I don't tell myself no, the answer is yes!  So far, aside from the floors and the mantle, this all belongs to me only in my dreams.  Considering how much overtime Patrick's been pulling to get cash together for closing, let's hope we can keep it that way for at least four more weeks!

Happy Monday!
-Kelli

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

It's Only a Matter of Time...

...before I wake up right here.
 I'll brush my teeth (because running water won't disturb Madison anymore)...
then I'll come here to sip my coffee...
 that was made in my new kitchen...
before I go wake up my brain in my new study.
Then Madison will wake up in her new room...
and come watch Super Why in our new living room.
(Since I'm dreaming anyway), she'll probably ask to go to the potty...
and then go in the backyard to play.
 Soon it will be lunchtime, so I'll head to my pantry/utility room to start on Madison's lunch...
 and then put her down for a nap so I can work on decorating her little sister's room.
 Before long (or at least not as long as it takes here in Crosby), Daddy will come home...
 and enjoy the house with us!
 If you haven't figured it out yet, our offer was accepted.  We plan to close on it the Friday before my birthday weekend. (Happy birthday to me!) And our current house is now under contract to close three days after our new one, giving us a full weekend to make the move, but no double mortgage payments!  I've been on cloud nine for about 60 hours straight. 

Now my biggest challenge is to stop obsessing over working on the details of the two closings and the move for long enough to plan Madison's birthday party!  At least she's given me clear direction for the party planning.  She wants a blue circle cake, green puppy dogs, pink kitty cats, pink elephants, blue balloons, and Ms. Lisa (our children's librarian). 

Happy Wednesday!
-Kelli