15 Weeks

15 Weeks

Weight Gain: Up 7 pounds now. Ugh. What the heck?!

Stretch Marks: Nope

Movement: Yes!! Just felt the baby for the first time a couple nights ago.

Cravings: Hmmm, not really.

Sleep: Good some days and bad others.

Best Moment this Week: Feeling the baby's little kicks.

Gender: No clue. But I've been finding myself really hoping for a boy.

Labor signs: Nope

Maternity Clothes: No, not yet. But... I've been lying, I guess I can still wear my favorite

skinny jeans!

What I miss: Energy.

What I'm looking forward to: Continuing to feel the baby move.

Another Random Post

I really don't have anything to right a whole post about... so here ya go, another bulleted post with random information.

1. Jesse had me do the dirty work and call our renters down in Lacey. Their lease expires April 15th, but we decided we will give them until the end of May, if they would like. I would say they weren't too happy, but that was to be expected. I wouldn't be either. They didn't seem mad at us, just upset about the situation.

So, we are all set to move out of the current place and back our other house on June 1st!! I am so excited. I'm already dreaming of getting the huge play set from Costco to go in the backyard. But all of a sudden, I feel like I need to rush and start packing pretty darn soon! 2 months is going to fly by before I know it! Where to start...

2. I've been so tired lately. This pregnancy so far has really wiped me out. I feel fatigued most of the time. I have always been such a busy body but these days, it is not hard for me to not do much besides the necessities. I'm hoping this changes real darn quick.

3. I'm switching doctors. I have my last appointment with the OB/GYN out in Snoqualmie tomorrow and then I will start seeing the doctor in Puyallup that I was seeing when I was pregnant with Hunter. Obviously, I would've needed to switch because of the move, but there are a couple other reasons why that I might talk about some other time.

4. I'm feeling guilty that I have been too tired to take Hunter to any classes on a regular basis. When he was little, I was really good at taking him to The Little Gym or swim lessons at least once a week. Lately, not so much. I'm just feeling too tired to commit to something. Ugh, once again, when will this pass?!

5. I'm about to insert a spouse gripe, bear with me. Hunting season has been over since the end of January... and Jesse promised he would be around ALL the time once that time came. Not at all! He has decided to take up skeet shooting and turkey hunting (a summer season). Not too thrilled about this in the least...

Busy Busy Busy

We've had a pretty packed weekend that went from Friday through Monday around the Doyle house. The good part was that almost all of it was fun stuff!

Friday night we had a family pizza date with my mom and sister-in-law and then my mom and I set out for the movie theatre to see Hunger Games. We had a good time and it was so nice for me to get some girl time away from poopy diapers and cooking dinner.



I thought the movie was entertaining, not sure if I would describe it as great, but I'm glad I saw it.

Saturday morning we got up early and Hunter and I joined Jesse for a Ducks Unlimited meeting over breakfast. Pretty much it consisted of eating breakfast with a toddler on my lap the entire time because Hunter was overwhelmed by all the men at breakfast he didn't know. Later in the day I took Hunter to my parents house so that he could have a slumber party with them. Lucy got to be the co-pilot for the first time and loved it!



Once we got to Snoqualmie, Hunter got a haircut from his favorite person, Jerry, at the Main Shop. He looked like a new boy. :) And then we hung out at my parents for a bit before I headed back home to get ready for the Ducks Unlimited banquet/auction with Jesse.

The banquet was actually a pretty good time. We had several friends come and join. Dinner was good and Jesse even won a framed art print of some ducks. Lovely... it's already up in our living room :/ What can ya do?! I figure sometimes you just gotta go with it.

The next morning we slept in and then headed out to pick up Hunter, had lunch at Chipotle, and then went to Seattle for a few hours. Jesse's cousin out in Minnesota is doing a school project with a "flat Stanley" where they send a paper doll around to family and friends around the country/world and get pictures of the doll at cool places. So, it was our turn to take some pictures of Flat Stanley in Seattle.

We parked at the Space Needle and ended up taking Hunter AND Lucy on the monorail to Westlake Center and then walked down to Pike Place Market. It was a good time!














From there we headed up to my nephew's 7th birthday dinner with the whole family. It was a great time, I love getting to see Hunter with all his cousins!




And yesterday, I sat down and did another week of meal planning, grocery shopping, and then had some of our bestest friends over for dinner. :)

This weeks menu: chicken tortilla soup with corn bread, cobb salad, greek salad in pitas, and shrimp stir fry.

Friday Fun Day

So, I don't have an insightful post today. So I'll just throw some random things out there...

1. It's official.... the WIC program is moving to McChord, we will be here for 4 more years!!!

Okay, I guess that's a big one! :) Thanks for all your well wishes and prayers about this after I wrote this post. So, the plan is to move back to our house in Lacey in the next two or three months!

2. I got busy sewing this morning and it was so much fun. It was my first solo sewing day! Everything went smoothly. I made Nicole the baby blanket she won in this giveaway and then even attempted to make a couple burp clothes for the first time. Easy peasy.



3. What's the deal with all the reruns on TV this week?! I really do not like it. But, I did start watching the new show "Missing" and think I'm really going to like it. I hope all the shows come back for next week!

4. Any suggestions on meal planning next week? Last week went great. I made all the things I set out to make and only got behind by one day. Okay okay, it was because I was lazy last week and we ordered pizza instead ;) I would love if you could comment with a link of your favorite go to meal!

5. We have a packed weekend full of fun stuff. Dinner with some family and then Hunger Games with my mama tonight, Duck's Unlimited banquet (not my first choice, but sometimes ya gotta give), church, trip to Seattle for some sight seeing, and a family dinner with my whole family to celebrate lots and lots of stuff at Buca di Beppo. What are your plans this weekend? Hope it's a good one! :)

14 Weeks

14 Weeks

Weight Gain: Up 5 pounds now. Is it just me or going up a pound a week this early seem like a lot?! I'm starting to hate this question every week! ;)

Stretch Marks: Nope

Movement: Not yet, waiting anxiously!

Cravings: Hmmm, not anything specifically. Still eating a grapefruit everyday.

Sleep: Pretty good.

Best Moment this Week: Seeing so many of my good friends. And finding out more and more of my friends are pregnant. I LOVE it!

Gender: Going back to having no clue.

Labor signs: Nope

Maternity Clothes: No, not yet.

What I miss: Being able to wear my favorite skinny jeans and having lots of energy.

What I'm looking forward to: Hmmm, watching this bump grow and finding out the gender!

Milestones: Can't think of any.

Debt Free Journey

Well, our family has finally accomplished a goal that we set out for a few years ago, to be debt free, expect our mortgages. We've had a few setbacks, but we finally made it and that is what has made it possible for me to stay at home with Hunter.

Four years ago, looked a lot different than today does. We had two auto loans, a few credit cards, and six student loans between the two of us. I'm going to guess our debt load was 60-70K between all those things. The first thing we paid of were the credit cards and started paying them off every month and never went back to carrying balances on them. Then we tackled the five smaller student loans on by one. We got both our cars paid off at one point and were left with only my one student loan. Then there was are setbacks... we wanted newer vehicles. We did not need them, but we did it anyways :(

I don't fully regret buying Jesse a new truck and me the SUV I had wanted forever. It means that we love our vehicles and we truly do not want or need to trade them in for a very long time. We did finance about half of each of them because we had our other vehicles paid of and we traded them in.

So our next steps were paying off his truck, my SUV, and then, just this week we paid off my final student loan. Woo-hoo! It feels so good to know that everything we own (besides our two houses) are completed paid for and we can live on a lot less income.

Why did we do it? I think the driving force really came after Hunter was born. I wasn't convinced that I wanted to be a stay at home mom, but I did know that I wanted to have that option if I wanted it. I also knew that we Jesse being in the military, we could have to move at anytime, which meant that I would be jobless for at least a period of time. It was more long term planning for the what-ifs.

We still have an emergency fund in savings, which for my sanity I need (can you tell I'm a planner? Even for the unexpected?). I'm so happy that we went down this path. I would never of dreamed that would could live on one income, much less comfortably, but here we are! I feel much more free and less stressed out and am SO blessed to be able to stay at home with Hunter and grow another little baby. I think the key is to stick with it even if you don't make all the "right" decisions along the way, it'll happen eventually!

I love to hear about other people's journey to be debt free, so feel free to share! Or if have any questions, leave me a comment or e-mail me!

Bloggers for Babies 2012

I'm excited to say that I am taking part in the Bloggers for Babies Walk to help raise money for the March of Dimes. Last year this group raised $2400 to help babies! The walk is going to take place in North Tacoma on May 12th at 9am!

Want to help, too?! You can do that in several different ways. You can walk with us, help raise money for this team, you can donate to our team, or if you aren't from the Seattle-Tacoma area, you can go to this website and find a walk near you and join there! If you want to help out by donating click on the "donate" button here:



Or click on the "walk with me" if you are local and want to join this great cause. It's a great way to help out babies in need and get to know some new friends and have a great time AND getting some exercise in, while we walk over three miles together.

Oh yeah, YOU DON'T NEED TO BE A BLOGGER! Not to walk with us or to donate. So, please some join us! We appreciate any donation you can make, even if it's $5, every bit helps.

Head over to Mandy's post for some more information and even see some pictures from the event last year.

A Fun and Full Saturday!

Like the title says, Saturday was a very fun but a very full day for us. I think all is fine and dandy when I pack a day like that... until the next day, I can't seem to move. This pregnancy has wiped me out. If I over-do it one day the next can't be anything but worthless. So let me tell you, yesterday was spent in yoga pants and a sweatshirt on the couch and in bed.

Anyways... Saturday morning started early with cupcake baking and a friend coming over to keep me company while I made 75 cupcakes and frosting from scratch for my brother's wedding on Saturday evening. It was busy, but it was also fun to get my domestic on and visit with a new friend. The time flew by! I made chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and coconut cupcakes with a coconut cream cheese frosting. Seeing a theme with the frosting? Well, yeah, I started running out of time and realized that I left my candy thermometer at my mom's house, so I wouldn't be able to make the 7 minute frosting for the coconut cupcakes. Oh well, they turned out just fine!!



Our friends left and Jesse, Hunter, and I scrambled to get ready and leave to go to the wedding. It was an awesome service and get together. It was totally low key and potluck style. Several of us commented that it was a great stress free way to get married.











After the wedding, we went to see a friend in the hospital who was having some complications from a surgery the week before. Hunter brightened her day and we were happy to find out that she was doing much better.

A Trip to the Hands on Museum

On Friday our good friends Rachel and Cole joined us to for a trip to the Hands On Museum in Tacoma. Cole is just three days older than Hunter, I LOVE having a friend with a son pretty much the same age as mine! The boys get along great and love each other.

The museum was crazy crowded, which was the only downside of the trip. But they had great areas for the kids to play in. They loved the water area, especially.










After we left the museum, we went to lunch at The Rock where I gorged myself on the best pizza ever. I'm kicking myself for not taking any pictures there because the boys were SO cute! They sat across from the moms in the booth and were so good. They ate chatted away, did a little wrestling, and did a good job of eating their lunches!

A few hours after we got home I asked Hunter if he wanted a new baby in September and his response was "No, I want Cole!" And then proceeded to talk about Cole's cool garbage truck toy for the rest of the evening. I might try to find one for his Easter basket!

Update on the Big Move

So remember when I wrote this and let you know that Jesse got orders to New Jersey and we would be moving in June? And how happy I was for him to have a new job that would have him home most of the time? Well, a lot has changed since then. Bear with me while I explain...

The job that Jesse got was offering support for something called the WIC program (Weapons Instructor Course), it's a pilot training course. So Jesse got orders in September that we would be reporting to NJ by June 30, for him to take that new job. A couple months ago, we found out that they are in the process of trying to get it approved for that whole program to move to a different base by January 2013. But... not just any base... they are trying to move it to McChord (where we are right now!).

That left a lot of questions for us and at the time and there were no answers for us at the time. Would we move out there and then move back six months later? Would we move out there and then Jesse would have to take a different job there after the program left? Would we just get new orders somewhere else? We had no clue.

A couple weeks ago we got a big answer, even though it still left uncertainty. We will be going wherever the WIC program goes and will not be moving at all, if it gets the final approval on moving out here. It is just waiting on one more signature (so we've been told). We will not know for sure until the end of April or beginning of may. So here are the two scenarios:

1. It gets denied. The week program stays in NJ and we have roughly 6 weeks from finding out to move there.

2. It is approved. Jesse will act as a local liaison at McChord to help them with their move (July-December) and then they will join him out here in January.

Jesse feels about 90% certain #2 is what will happen. That means we will be "home" for another 4 years! I'm really excited about this possibility. It allows our children to spend their youngest years surrounded by extended family. We have also decided that we will be moving back to our house (which we currently rent out) in Lacey. That thrills me, it's home for us. While I feel extremely blessed to of been able to purchase this 4 bedroom condo near Auburn, it's just not home. With me not working anymore, we don't have to worry about such a long commute from Lacey, so it's an easy decision for us.

So there's the update! :) I'll keep ya posted.

Here are some pictures of what I hope to be calling home again in a couple months!!














Oh man, I haven't looked at these pictures in a couple years. It makes me so homesick. This is the house Jesse and I bought a couple weeks before our wedding and where we found out we were expecting our first baby. I so hope that we can have our kids grow up running around in that backyard.

13 Weeks!

13 Weeks

Weight Gain: Up 4 pounds so far. I don't know how I feel about how rapidly this is increasing! I didn't gain any weight with Hunter until 17 weeks!

Stretch Marks: No new ones

Movement: Nope, but I am constantly finding myself trying to feel movement when I lay down at night. :)

Cravings: Pasta, grapefruit, and anything spicy.

Sleep: Ugh, this has been hit or miss in the last week. A few nights I've tossed and turned for hours at night. Also, it's getting uncomfortable to sleep on my side, I get pains in my hip.

Best Moment this Week: No sickness this week and A LOT more energy. Today I made enchiladas from scratch and made three baby blankets!

Gender: I'm thinking girl. I had a dream last week that we were at the ultrasound appointment and the tech told us it was a girl.

Labor signs: Nope

What I miss: Being able to wear my favorite skinny jeans.

What I'm looking forward to: Hmmm, watching this bump grow and finding out the gender!

Weekly wisdom: Sometimes you just gotta give into the cravings!

Milestones: Made it throughout the first trimester!

Meal Planning

I am finally feeling back to my old self, no more throwing up and I have tons more energy. So, I figured it was time for the new stay at home mom to get to work with some meal planning! I've never really mastered this and usually end up just having the basics on hand to make simple dinners like stir fry, curries, and baked chicken and veggies. BORING. Well, Jesse likes it because that means it's usually Paleo diet friendly, but this pregnant lady is craving some good old carbs and comfort food these days.

So, I got to work this morning while Hunter slept in until 10am! I pulled out my "Joy of Cooking" cookbook and did some meal planning for the next week or so. Here is what I came up with:

Thursday: Chicken Enchiladas (even with homemade sauce, I'm kind of a snob about this, I don't like canned enchilada sauce)

Friday: Corned beef and cabbage with red potatoes (Gotta celebrate Jesse's Irish heritage, right?!)

Saturday: My oldest brother and his fiancé have informed us this week that they are having a spur of the moment wedding on Saturday evening! So, no cooking for me, but I did volunteer to make my yummy red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. (Want the recipe? It's over there on the recipes tab!)

Sunday: Beef Stew

Monday: Spaghetti Pie

Sometime during the week I also plan to make some chocolate chip cookies and some apple muffins to snack on. All these recipes I found in the Joy of Cooking cookbook (expect the cupcakes, I leave that to Martha).

You guys have any luck with meal planning? I'm hoping I stick with it, but I just don't know if I can keep up with it every week. Any tips for me? I'd love to hear them.

Discipline

Ugh, this has been on my mind for a little while. How do you discipline a two year old? I don't have the answers, but I can speak from our experience what has been working in our family. It's an ever changing process with Hunter. I am a big fan of changing up how you deal with things based on what works or is working at the time for your child.

A firm "no" was the first thing that we started with Hunter, about a year ago. At the time it worked well and he could tell we did not approve of his actions and would stop. After he got a bit more stubborn, that changed, he would just look at us, as if saying "Really, you think that's going to stop me?!".

So, we started using timeouts. Oh, they were my best friend for several months. Hunter would hang his head in time out and then rush over to me to apologize. We would hug and then talk about why he went to timeout. I got to the point where I wasn't physically putting him in time out, I would just tell him to go to timeout and he would. Oh those were the days!! After a couple months, nope, not working anymore. He would just sit there with no remorse and think nothing of it and then go back and do whatever had gotten him into timeout five minutes before.

So, we switched to spankings. Go ahead and judge me, that's fine. But I do believe in spankings. I've never done it out of anger nor have I actually physically caused harm to my child. Jesse even teases me that I have never really given him a "spanking" just a tap on a diaper covered bottom. Whatever. It worked. It would shock him a little at first and then it hurt his feelings. His bottom lip would stick out and he would say he was sorry. In the last month... nope no reaction, just a stare down.

So... that leads me to where we are at right now. We have moved on to taking things away for bad behavior. He hits the puppy, he gets a toy or the TV taken away. He doesn't clean up his toys when I ask them to, he's not going to get to use them for the afternoon. This has been working like a charm. I think it's just a natural progression with age, what "hurts" them the most at the time. Right now, the thought of not being able to watch the rest of Octonauts sends him into complete panic and he rushes to correct his behavior.

Call me crazy, but I like the discipline aspect of parenting. I know that it turns me into a "bad guy" at the moment, but it shaping him for the future. It's offering him guidance into becoming the man that God wants him to be. So yeah, when I see progress in his actions, words, and affection towards other, I like being the primary one to guide him. There is not doubt in my mind that being willing to discipline your child is an act of service and love for them. I love my son enough to want to mold and guide him to greatness.

Let's Talk About The Bachelor

I don't usually like to admit to watching this show... but I do. I have been sucked in since college. I think this season has been the most disappointing one thus far. Because of Courtney? Nah, that makes it kind of interesting. But, Ben, really?! I don't really find this guy to be any extraordinary catch. I don't find him attractive in the least, he obviously has poor judgment in women (Courtney), he couldn't see himself with a woman who came from a family with Christian values (Kacie B), AND I hated his reaction to Emily when she was trying to warn him (really, tell her to watch herself?!).

This photo cracks me up because he totally looks like Francine!



So what am I hoping for tonight? Oh geeze, I could go either way. I obviously think Lindzi is a better woman, but I don't think he deserves her. Part of me, the very mean side of me, wants him to choose Courtney and see everything fall apart during the After the Rose show.

So do spill... do you watch the show? If you do, what do you want to see happen tonight?

Giveaway Winner!

And the giveaway winner of the baby blanket is.... Nicole from Table For Four!



Can't wait to make a blanket for you sister-in-law. E-mail me or Facebook me and let me know if you want any specific colors or if you just want me to come up with something girly :) Oh yeah, I will need your address, too!

A Much Needed Sunday at Church

I've mentioned a few times how sick I've been so far in this pregnancy. It's probably not a super legit reason, but it has kept me from church for the past six weeks or so. I have felt a lot better in the last week, so we made it to church this morning. I knew I was missing it, but I didn't know just how much until we walked into the door. My heart was so happy to be in a house of worship.

I don't know how many times I have heard people say "you don't have to go to church to be a Christian", almost exclusively from people who don't go to church. I'm not disagreeing with that statement, but I do feel like Christians need to feed our faith on a regular basis and be surrounded by other believers. I can attest to that because I felt a huge piece of me dwindling away over the last several weeks, but today I was restored. This is exactly why it is so important for Christians to go to church on a regular basis.

I found myself praying for Jesus to flood into my heart, to use me in whatever way was His will. The Holy Spirit is a miraculous things and can bring to strongest willed person to their knees and to be humbled by His grace.

So today I am so grateful to of felt well enough to of gotten there and to live in a country where I can openly share my faith and worship in a wonderful church.

Giveaway!!!

Hi all! As a mentioned a couple days ago, I'm going to do a giveaway of baby/toddler blanket made by ME! Check out my post here. The blankets are a super soft minky dot on one side and flannel or light cotton on the other. They have a rounded edge and measure 30"X36".



Here are the ones I've completed so far... but this is a giveaway for one that I haven't made yet. The winner will be able to tell me if it's for a boy or girl and which color scheme they would like. And ta-da, I will make the blanket in the next couple weeks and ship it out to one of my fabulous readers!!

There is a possible to entries per person,

1. Follow me through Google Friend Connect (click "Follow me" on the button the the right of this page") and tell me in a comment that you do.

2. Leave me a separate comment and let me know who this blanket would be for and feel free to elaborate on what colors/patterns you would love.

Don't have kids, still enter, I'm sure you know some special little people who would love a new blankey. These work perfect for baby showers, too! :)

I will randomly choose a winner on Sunday night.

12 Weeks

12 Weeks

Weight Gain: Up 3 pounds so far. Going up, up, up!

Stretch Marks: No new ones

Movement: Nope.

Cravings: Grapefruit. I seriously eat one, sometimes two every single day.

Sleep: SO good! I sleep 9-10 hours a night. Love being well rested.

Best Moment this Week: I've had three days in a row with no throwing up now! I still feel a bit icky after dinner, but that's abut it. My energy level is getting better, too.

Gender: A girl??

Labor signs: Nope

What I miss: Margaritas. I rarely had them before being pregnancy, but now I think of them often. I had a virgin one earlier this week, sooo good!

What I'm looking forward to: Hmmm, watching this bump grow and finding out the gender!

Weekly wisdom: Not feeling too wise this morning ;)

Milestones: Seeing the baby at the ultrasound on Monday. Love this baby so much already!!

Learning to Sew

So if you are my friend on Facebook or follow me on Instagram, this is old news. (If you don't follow me on Instagram, my name is doylesdays). A couple weeks ago I decided it was time that I learned to sew! So I went over to my parent's house for a sewing day with my mom. I had found a pretty simple tutorial on pinterest for a super cute baby blanket. Then later that week I made two more!


I love them! They are super soft minky dot on one side and a nice flannel on the other. I can't wait to make more for baby showers and other special babies in my life :)

Here of some pictures of the process:



And here are my three completed blankets so far.




I plan on doing a giveaway of a blanket in the next week or so, so keep a lookout! :)