What do you think.... have we grown?

So, what do you think... have our bellies grown in the last 3 1/2 weeks? If you check back to the blog I posted on March 4 ("One final visit before #2 comes) you will see that Bradi and I took the same shot, wearing the same shirt. Yes, very cheesy, I know.
However, its more fun to mark our progress together and watch our bellies expand. I am not much of a fan of seeing my picture at this point, as we all tend to be so critical of ourselves. However, I think Bradi looks great as she is due a week from today. Can't wait to hear the news about Kreider baby #2!
Overall, I had a great final trip to Michigan with only one child. I managed to stock up on some goodies from the Dutch store as well enjoy some relaxation. Zachary also had a good time playing with his friend, Raegan.

I also was able to stop and visit with my old co-workers from Arbor Circle. It was great to be back and reminds me of how much I still miss the girls and working there. This is my dear friend, Kerry, my former office mate, who is also expecting. She is due in August so its fun to experience pregnancy with her too!

Miss you girls....

Crossing things off the never ending 'to do' list

Phew... life is finally getting back to around here normal. After the completion of the kitchen, we spent the weekend putting the kitchen back together and crossing other things off Mark's 'honey, do list.' Mark spent hours in the garage this weekend dealing with the aftermath of the construction that took place in there. We are finally able to walk through the garage without having to step over things. We also spent significant time outside as it was a record breaking 79' degrees yesterday and today its even nicer outside. We also have spent most of today outside, as the cleaners have been sweating it out inside cleaning my house from top to bottom! yippee! I did have several moment of guilt, but like I said they were just moments and passed quickly. The house looks spotless and well worth the money!

Since I have had several inquiries about my ongoing swollen feet, I might just post a picture once I capture them at their worst. Needless to say working hard all weekend didn't help my cause any, as Mark continually reminded me. Hopefully, I will be able to rest more now that the chaos has ended around here.

Its spring break here this week, so since I don't have Badminton, I am off to Michigan tomorrow for a final visit with friends before baby. I am looking forward to the trip and a few days away from our normal routine. I am riding up with my friend Kris, so she's available to help if I were to go into labor... just kidding, don't panic, Mom, I'm sure I won't!
However I am staying with my friend Bradi who is due in about 10 days, hopefully she doesn't go into labor while I'm staying with her. Right, Bradi?

Ta Da....

Ta Da.... Its like magic! Yeah, right...

We have officially survived our first major construction project!! yippee! Hard to believe that something we started 6 plus weeks ago is finally over and we couldn't be happier with the outcome. Despite a few glitches along the road and a some minor details to finish up, we can start putting the kitchen back together. Which, however, at this point seems like such an overwhelming task as my dining room has turned into a war zone.

Giving the fact that I'm now 8 months pregnant and unfortunately encountering some major swelling issues (and since I can't get over the size of my swollen feet, I just might post a picture and blog about it, which I'm sure everybody would love to see!), I have decided to treat myself to a one time deep cleaning service. The house is extremely dirty after countless workmen coming in and out and all the work being done, that I can't even bare the thought of getting on my hands and knees and attempting to give the whole house the cleaning it desperately needs. The 'Euro-Maids' are coming on Monday, which couldn't come soon enough! I just might get use to having a cleaning service! I deserve it, right??

How embarrasing is this??

I feel like all I am capable of blogging about lately is our kitchen project, but I guess the truth is, its just consuming our lives at the moment. This picture captures the current view of our front yard, yep, what an embarrassing sight! Notice we currently have our car parked there trying to hide it a little from our neighbors till garbage pick up on Wednesday.
I think this its about our 4th week of a bulk pick up, as we have slowly been getting rid of our cabinets as we have been taking them out. Now we have just added an oven to the mix as well as numerous boxes from our new cabinets.

Tomorrow should be our final day of cabinet installation and completion of other odds and ends. Followed by counter top installation on Wednesday and hopefully final pluming hook up on Thursday. So all being well we will have a full functioning kitchen by the weekend and then the deep cleaning begins. I must admit this project has been quite draining on all of us and I'm so sick of eating out, but the final outcome will be worth it. I absolutely love it already and will post a picture once its completed... so stay tuned.

This day couldn't end soon enough

Ahhh, what a day, actually what a weekend. We are at the height of our kitchen demolition. We painted yesterday and Mark started taking out the bottom cabinets today. We are making good progress and should be ready for the new cabinets to start going in on Thursday. Once that begins we will be without a kitchen sink for at least 10 days, which will be a big challenge. Any local friends who want to have us over for dinner next week, we will accept any offers.... :-)

In other news, Zachary decided today that he no longer wants to wear diapers. Of course, this is a good thing as we want to master potty training before baby #2, however, things are so stressful around here that the timing is not ideal. So within several hours today he proceeded to pee through his clothes twice and had his first accident of #2 in his pants. It has been a day of many tears with an extremely challenging 3 year old.

We tried to end the day on a positive note by playing outside in the beautiful spring like weather and for going for a walk. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better and more successful day.

A big thanks to my Mom!

I just returned from taking my Mom to the airport for her return flight to Phoenix. We had a great week together, although it was pretty stressful and as normal very busy. I just wanted to thank you, Mom, for all of your help throughout the week. I really appreciate all the cleaning you did after the drywall mess as well as getting a start on organizing the nursery. We, (Zach and I) also appreciate you babysitting him everyday while I went to Badminton. Thanks again for everything, next time you come things should be much, much, much less stressful around here as the kitchen should be done by then. We will ONLY have preparations for baby to complete!

Its gone from this to this

The before and after pictures of our kitchen. We had all the piping moved last week and drywall hung and mudded yesterday. Now we are waiting for it to dry before it can be sanded in a few days, which if any of you have had drywall done in your house you know what a huge mess it is. Once that's completed we will be painting and ripping out the rest of the kitchen. It seems like we are slowly making some progress. All being well they will start installing the new cabinets next week...yippee!


Needless to say it continues to be stressful and chaotic around here, but thank goodness my mom is flying in today to help for the week! Oh, and just to add to the stress, our stupid garage door broke, which is perfect timing as the appliances are scheduled to be delivered this week. Someone remind me next time when we tackle a major construction project not to do it when I'm 7 month pregnant!

One final visit before #2 comes

This past weekend our college friends, Brad & Bradi, came down from Michigan for a final visit before we both become parents of two. The weekend was jam packed as the boys helped our other friends, Steve & Stacy, move into their new house. However, us girls did manage to squeeze in a childless trip to IKEA for a few necessities. It was fun to compare tummies as Bradi, Stacy, & I are all due within 6 weeks of each other, especially since none of us know what we are having. Its very bizarre to think the next time the 6 of us get together we will all have a newborn!

Comparing the size of our tummies





The boys also getting in on the action, as we can't forget about them.