The Hartland

35 Week Bump-Date!

2016-09-06T15:44:00.000-07:00

I know I know.. its been a while since I've posted an update. We've had some crazy ups and downs (literally) with my blood pressure so I've not really been up to posting much. Since the last bump date, we have had two hospital stays, been put on meds and have been on bed rest. Not exactly how I thought these last weeks would go but we are counting our blessings that Corbin has been ok through all of this.

So, here we are at past 35 weeks! Time for an update...

How far along? 35 weeks, 3 days
How big is baby? The size of a bunch of Carrots. Weighing in at almost 5-6 lbs but we know that Corbin is on the smaller side.
Total weight gain/loss? Total gain as of today... 21lbs!
Maternity clothes? Bed rest has me in PJ's 24/7 so nothing new in the actual clothes department but this my "going to my Tuesday Dr. Appointment " look.

Sleep? HA! What is sleep? I've had an AWFUL pinched nerve since being on bed rest at 32 weeks.. so I sleep in 4 hr increments, get up, massage my inflamed neck for a bit, scroll Instagram and then head back to sleep if I can. Prepping myself for baby I suppose.
Symptoms? neck pain is still alive and well unfortunately. Also, he is kicking me in the bladder all the time. That is as fun as it sounds ;)
Food cravings? Breakfast foods, cheese and fruity stuff (Mike and Ikes & sour worms!)
Food aversions? Nothing really
Best moment this week so far? We finished the nursery! Details coming to the blog soon! Here is a sneak peek...

Worst moment? Well, staying in the hospital sucked but it was worse hearing your baby isn't growing like he should. Because of the high blood pressure it was constricting some growth on his end. All is good now though. He will just be small!
Belly button in or out? IN! Totally thought it was on its way out but its hanging in there.
What I miss? Feeling like myself... ready to get back to a new normal.
What I'm looking forward to? Just having a healthy little guy at this point.
Weird dreams of the week: I had a weird one but I can't remember it now!

Baby Items Purchased? We have everything we need now! I have returned a few things and finished up his nursery stuff so I will count that towards baby items purchased :)

On another note, Corbin has been breech for the last 3/4 weeks. So, if he doesn't turn, we will end up having a c-section. Basically, they will not attempt to turn him because of my high blood pressure so, it is what it is. Anyone have any advice on having a c-section or things to know before it all happens? I'm just super anxious about it all! Not the way I thought my first child would come into this world but I know that God has a plan!

Daddy thoughts:
35 weeks... not much longer.. how are you feeling?
It's getting real.. I'm in disbelief!

If you could do one more thing before Corbin comes, what would it be?
Spend more time with my babe.

What is you overall thoughts on the pregnancy journey?
Crazy how fast this has gone. And surprised by the early due date he will have!

What have you learned?
I learned that I don't care for staying in a hospital overnight!

That is all for now.. thanks for stopping by!

Young Living Starter Kit: What I'm loving!

2016-09-01T08:25:00.001-07:00

Hello blog world! Hope you are well :)

I wanted to drop by (while on bed rest...more on THAT later) and write yall a little blog post that isn't all about my growing bump for a change! Today, I'll be talking about Young Living Oils... if you want to stop reading that's fine (and I totally get it, cause I was there once too, rolling my eyes about another product out there people are selling) but I'm super loving these oils and want to share with those that have genuinely been interested.

My story starts back in February. I kept hearing about these little oils that had great power to do lots of different things. Every now and then I would see a post from my friend Nikki about them on FB. I would watch her videos and I could really tell these oils were helping her family so much. I wanted to know more but was still super skeptical. I reached out and she invited me to a few online parties and I attended a class she taught here in Louisville.

I was already reading a fantastic book about health/hormones, Woman Code so my mind was on over drive about chemicals and their effects on the body. Alisa Vitti, the author talks about healing herself from PCOS/Hormone imbalances through food and lifestyle changes. She talks about how parabens in our home can be effecting everything from our hormones to fertility issues.Then my sister passed away from a rare endometrial cancer the last day in March. She had PCOS and Endometriosis. It was crazy how all this lined up in my life and I felt a strong pull to get those nasty chemicals out of the house, especially now that cancer had reared its ugly head at our family. I wanted to do anything I could to help prevent anymore of that. I was also newly pregnant so, I of course wanted to watch everything I breathed in, ate, put on my body etc.

I researched so much April-June, watched videos, read reviews, followed instagram posts about them and talked to the hubs about it and finally in July, I took the plunge and thought, well what do I have to lose with these oils? Money was really the only thing I could think I would be losing. And how much money do I spend on cleaning supplies already that are full of chemicals? Especially buying a bunch that are specific to what I was cleaning (toilet cleaner, wood floor cleaner, glass cleaner etc.) Spending a fortune probably. Diffusing an essential oil in the house instead of an air freshener with chemicals? I bet I would feel better about the air we were breathing...

So, Nikki got me all set up and I have been diving in! I read daily about the different oils and what they can do to benefit many different areas of our lives. There are so many out there and I want to try them all!! But, let me get to my point for this post... In the little time I have had these oils, here is what I have done with the Premium Starter Kit Oils.

*These opinions are all my own. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

First of all, lets start with my most used...

1. I sleep so much better (and I believe Pheebs and Tyler do too!) I just diffuse Lavender at night and we are knocked out. One time I added Peace and Calming and I slept SO hard. Best night sleep ever. PS- Peace and Calming isn't in the Starter kit but a sample of it is. Its on my list to get when its back in stock!

**Bonus: Lavender will literally calm your pooch down. I let Pheebs sniff it once when she was freaking out about her nails being cut and she was much better after!

2. I am helping prevent stretch marks! I mix carrier oil (coconut oil) and lavender and slather on my belly at night. I was just doing coconut oil the last few months so I can't say the lavender is the reason I have zero stretch marks right now but hey, I like to think its helping ;)
3. I got rid of Dryer Sheets! I use Wool Balls now with Lavender oil added to bring back smelly goodness to my clothes. Zero chemicals, yay! (Saving some $$ here man. No more buying those disgusting chemical infused dryer sheets)
4. I got rid of a headache without using Tylenol! Since Tylenol is the only headache med I can take while pregnant (and I did NOT like doing that anyway) I found a roller blend that is supposed to help.. about a month ago I had a killer headache so I mixed Peppermint, Panaway and Lavender with grape seed carrier oil and put it on my neck and temples while we finished watching the last episode of Stranger Things (go watch on Netflix!!) and it went away before I fell asleep. Amazing. And guess what? Chemical free!
5. I've read that Lavender is good for helping skin issues such as acne. My hormones are crazy right now but I have a little mix I put together with lavender in it to see what this does for my skin. So far so good.. if I could just STOP picking at my skin. I have a problem. haha! I'll report back on that mix later if I love it!

Next up.. Lemon

1. I have cleaner dishes AND they smell good! I mix hydrogen peroxide with lemon essential oil and add it to my rinse aid section of the dishwasher and Voila! Chemical free rinse aid. Winning!
2. I am focused and am energized! Peppermint and Lemon in my diffuser has helped me get energized to get things done. One Saturday I used this combo and really knocked some stuff off my to do list for Corbin's room. Most productive weekend I've had in a while.. thanks oils!
3. Drop some lemon in your water for a zing and some digestive help!
4. Great for cleaning as well:

1 1/4 cup water
1 cup white vinegar
20-30 drops lemon essential oil... Put in a glass spray bottle and done!

PS- I love Young Living's Thieves cleaner as well which is another post for another day haha!

Next is.. Peppermint!

1. Peppermint helps my headaches. That's all I need to say bout that !
2. Gives me energy.. put some in your diffuser with lemon or toss some in your water!
3. Add it to your baking.. Christmas is just around the corner!

Another I love...

Purification!

The STINK it takes out of my sun room is unreal. I just love diffusing this in there! I also have used it in my wool dryer balls. And, I've used it so much, I am out of it! So when I get more maybe I'll have more ways to tell you how to use it!

Those are just a few things I have done with my oils since getting them .. and its been less than 2 months using them! Possibilities are endless here folks! My obvious favorite is Lavender but others in the kit like Digize and Thieves are great for helping stomach aches and colds. My mom used Thieves on her throat and it really helped her with coughing at night. WE have not been sick but I'm sure it would help us just the same if it were us!

Ok, sorry for the rambling! If you are at all interested in learning more, I would love to talk to you about them! I'm no expert but I love to share. No pressure at all. Drop me a line in the comments ! I will be doing an order in the next week so its in before baby decides to come, so if you want to try an oil, I get them at wholesale price and we can order you some!

It obviously took me a while to jump on board and there is nothing wrong with making an informed decision. However, if you are ready to get a kit now, click here and we can get ya set up! I will also throw in a little goodie bag full of stuff to get ya started living the oily life with me. This will put you on my team but you don't have to do anything more if you don't want. I can explain all of that after if you are interested.

Anyway, I hope this post helped to break down what you can do with oils in the Starter Kit and how they can benefit you and your family!

Peace, Love & Oils...

28 week Bump-date!

2016-07-24T19:41:00.001-07:00

Well folks, I am officially in the 3rd Trimester!! Is it just me or is this flying by? I'm starting to have the nervous sweats... eek!!

Saturday, July 16 marked the start of 28 weeks...

HELLO BELLY!

Since our last blog post, we have taken our baby-moon to Asheville,NC. It was an amazing 3 nights away from everything! I may just blog about it for others that may want to go. We are no experts on the area but man, we were impressed with everything we did that it may be helpful to someone what wants to venture that way soon!

And now, this is where we are today...

How far along? 29 weeks, 1 day
How big is baby? The size of a PINEAPPLE .. wow! Weighing in at almost 3lbs and close to 16" long.
Total weight gain/loss? Up 11lbs!
Maternity clothes? Needing to find long maxi dresses cause I'm getting really tired of putting on pants ! And if we are being honest, putting on clothes in general... ;)

Sleep? I am sleeping AWESOME thanks to my Lavender and Peace and Calming blend in my diffuser. Also, doctor recommended I stuff pillows behind me so I don't roll over on my back too much cause I was waking up that way. This can cut off the important blood flow to baby with all the weight on the vena cava vein.
Best moment this week so far? We got the crib up and my friends threw Corbin his first shower and it was so fun!

Worst moment? I had 6 blood draws this week at the doctor. I should have results tomorrow on my glucose test and another test (liver enzymes and blood count). They are just making sure all is good so I'm fine with that even though the constant visits to the doc are no fun.
Symptoms? Feeling full and the usual growing pains. Also, had some nasty fire breathing heartburn.. like afraid to open my mouth cause I may burn someone heartburn... can you imagine? #newmomsuperpower?
Food cravings? All the unhealthy stuff.. of course.
Food aversions? I'm not a big fan of protein, usually at dinner time. Odd.
Belly button in or out? It's still in but I'm giving it 2 weeks max. ;)
What I miss? Sleeping on my stomach is pretty high on the what I miss scale.
What I'm looking forward to? Making my list of to dos before he gets here! Yeah I know I'm a lame planner and I love lists haha! 10ish weeks is just not that far away! I gotta get on it!!
Weird dreams of the week: I haven't had any lately that I can remember. Honestly can't remember anything these days... #pregnancybrain

Baby Items Purchased? All the people in my life are certainly taking care of the baby items being purchased so far. I'm sure I'll be using my weekends soon to get the big things though (stroller, car seat, diaper bag etc.)

Daddy thoughts:
What do you think about your child being the size of a pineapple already?
Crazy!

Are you ready to change some diapers?
I have no idea what I'm doing...

What are you doing to prepare for Corbin's arrival?
Not trying to stress out!
______________________________________________________

Does anyone swear by those pregnancy pillows or is that a waste of $$?

Anyone know of good summer clothing sales for those maxi dresses I'm trying to find?

Thinking of making freezer meals before he arrives.. anyone do this and recommend it? Any recipes you want to share?

Leave me some advice in the comments! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Week 25 Bump- date

2016-06-28T15:03:00.000-07:00

So, it's been 5 weeks since I last updated you all on Baby Hart! Life has been crazy busy & I apologize for the lack of posting. Not sorry for living life, but sad I've missed some weeks.. anyway, we will get back on track!

Since the last post, we have found out the gender! We had a gender reveal party and it was so much fun! Our theme was AKs or Ballets and we (or Tyler ha!) shot an explosive target that was surrounded by chalk that we made ourselves. Check out some of our photos below to see Boy or Girl!

And the official bump pic with his name <3

Where we are now..

How far along? 25 weeks, 2 days
How big is baby? Size of a Prairie dog! About 2 lbs.
Total weight gain/loss? I've gained a total of 6 lbs so far.
Maternity clothes? Anytime I can wear Maternity I do... but still rocking some regular jeans but that's only because finding maternity jeans that are flattering really stinks. Maybe I should start my own line so women don't have to be miserable. Maybe call it Momma Rabbits.. Right Dad? haha family joke.. moving on...

Sleep? Last time I said it was time for one of those pillows.. and I still don't have one lol I'm not sleeping bad though.
Best moment this week so far? Constantly feeling the kicks just makes me happy.

Worst moment? Personally, we lost a coworker last week so it was a bad week. Pregnancy wise, pulled a muscle in my upper stomach and oh my goodness, thought Corbin was coming out of my side! Terrified me.

Symptoms? Just feel BLAH sometimes.
Food cravings? Lately, I've had lots of ice cream and I'm not tired of it yet!
Food aversions? Nothing really.
Gender? Little BOY
Belly button in or out? In
What I miss? Looking normal. I love having the bump but when people stare at it constantly, its like, YES I KNOW I'M PREGNANT, STOP STARING!
What I'm looking forward to? Getting Corbin's room set up.. I've been collecting things here and there so I'm ready to get started.
Weird dreams of the week: Oh no big deal, Tyler just LEFT my side during labor & missed the whole thing! His excuse in the dream was he wanted to go talk to family in the waiting room. Nope, you better stay by my side boy or there will be consequences!

Baby Items Purchased? Again, I have not purchased anything for him these last few weeks but he is getting spoiled by others already!

Daddy thoughts:

On a scale of 1-10 how nervous are you about the delivery room?
5

What are you most excited to teach Corbin?
How to shoot and how to treat his mommy well.

Best moment for you last week?
Visiting family and having friends over for some shooting fun

______________________________________________________

How did you reveal the gender of your baby?
Anyone out there have a great place to find maternity pants?

Interested in how we made the chalk for our reveal? Post coming soon!

Week 20 Bump-date!

2016-05-23T18:41:00.000-07:00

We are half way there people! Such an exciting milestone :)
From this point, I'm just going to answer how things currently are going instead of a recap from the week before...

How far along? 20w 2d

How big is baby? 20- Paper Airplane according to my app, but measuring 12oz at the doc today!
Total weight gain/loss? Officially gained a pound from my 8 week appt, although I feel like its 10..
Maternity clothes? Yep!!

Sleep? I think its time for one of those pillows... Also, baby has now twice woke me up kicking. Getting me ready I supposed.
Best moment this week so far? I mean, finding out the gender of course!!

Worst moment? Feeling like I couldn't walk last weekend! Had a horrible pain right in the front on my abdomen. We came to the conclusion it was round ligament pain thanks to Dr. Google, but the real doc said it may have been muscle spasms or a mix of the two.
Symptoms? Nothing right now!
Food cravings? No cravings, just whatever sounds good, I eat.
Food aversions? Not that I can think of
Gender? Mwahahahahahahahaha! Soon.
Belly button in or out? In
What I miss? Sleeping on my belly even though I didnt do it that much anyway. Sometimes its nice to have that option!
What I'm looking forward to? Shopping for this little one!
Weird dreams of the week: I had a dream it was a boy. So that's one for boy, one for girl.

Baby Items Purchased? None, but that's about to change!

Daddy thoughts:
How did you feel before the Anatomy Scan today?
Not that nervous. I mean, honestly surreal.

On a scale of 1-10 how nervous are you about being a dad?\
5

Best moment for you this week?
Watching my baby smile about the gender!

Any more thoughts for the 1/2 way mark?
It's gettin' REAL!

Saturday we announce to the world!!

Week 17-19 Bump- date!

2016-05-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm a little behind here. Sorry peeps! Life be crazy.
So, we are going to make this a Week 17-19 recap ;)

I'm also behind on getting a pic every Saturday..oh well, here is one right in the middle.

How far along? 19 weeks as of 5.14.16
How big is baby? 17- game console controller, 18- slingshot, 19- Zucchini
Total weight gain/loss? I *think* I am up 5 lbs.. but that just a guess from one weigh in at my moms house randomly.
Maternity clothes? Still need more .. need time to shop!

Sleep? I'm getting good sleep.. and mainly sleeping on my right side.. all you gender predictors out there, here is one that points to girl!
Best moment these 3 weeks? Feeling the baby move! Crazy!

Worst moment? No bad moments, thank goodness.
Symptoms? I'm feeling good but uncomfortable at times. I know I know, its only gonna get worse ;)
Food cravings? Cereal!!

Food aversions? I want all the junk and none of the healthy .. that needs to change pronto! I did have Zucchini tonight though...
Gender? 7 days till we know!
Belly button in or out? In
What I miss? Nothing at the moment
What I'm looking forward to? The Anatomy scan!!!
Weird dreams of the week: Lets see.. I've been held hostage in a Foot Locker, flown around like Peter Pan with a coworker to a party out in a corn field and a gender reveal dream revealed we were having a girl. All over the place!!

Baby Items Purchased? None the last few weeks.

Daddy thoughts:
Are you still thinking girl?
I think so...

On a scale of 1-10 how nervous are you about finding out the gender?
5

On a scale of 1-10 how nervous are you about being a dad?
5

(middle of the road.. we shall see if this changes!)

What do you think about the big ol belly so far?
It's cute.

Thanks for reading yall! Just FYI- this may turn into an every 2 week thing ;)

Week 16 Bump-date!

2016-05-02T19:39:00.001-07:00

Welcome to another week of pregnancy fun.. that sure flew by! So much so, I am behind.. sorry about that!
Let's dig into what happened...

How far along? Week 16, 4.23-4.30
How big is baby? About the size of a turnip!
Total weight gain/loss? Friday April 29th was a check up for me. And I am back down to pre pregnancy weight, so I stand at zero weight gained/lost. Doc said no worries, this happens.. the baby is like a piranha and will take everything from you so, he/she be taking that weight gain! ;)
Maternity clothes? They are literally my best friend. I need more.. time to go shopping again!

Sleep? I wish I could sleep like my pug, but I still wake up kind of tossing and turning.
Best moment this week? Seeing my long distance BFF! We went to Franklin TN for a couples trip and it was amazing minus the rain :(

Worst moment this week? Throwing up at the Apple Barn in Gatlinburg last weekend & then getting some sort of head cold/congestion this weekend. Come on now!
Symptoms? I'm feeling overall better minus the above statement
Food cravings? Nothing really!
Food aversions? Same as last week.
Gender? I still say boy.. we find out in 3 weeks!
Belly button in or out? In
What I miss? My sissy :(
What I'm looking forward to? Planning this gender reveal over the next few weeks.. its going to be so fun!
Weird dreams of the week: I have had zero (that I can remember) this week!

Baby Items Purchased? YES! I got a Butter onesie at Paula Deen's last week! Isn't it adorable?! haha!!

Daddy thoughts:
Do you think Boy or Girl?
Girl (we were thinking the same till now!)

What do you want to accomplish before baby arrives?
Getting this house looking like something!

What are you looking forward to?
Havin' a pretty baby... basically seeing what the baby looks like.

Any other thoughts for Week 16?
This cheesecake is good.

With love and cheesecake...

Week 15 Bump-date!

2016-04-23T05:46:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends!

First of all, I wanted to say thank you to everyone that read my last post. Your comments, prayers and real life hugs meant so much. I miss my sister dearly and its an everyday struggle but its comforting to know I have that special memory with her & she is watching over us. That keeps me going when thinking about baby :)

I wanted to start blogging again when we found out about Baby Hart. I've always enjoyed reading these posts from other bloggers and its a fun way to "journal" this experience. I wish I would have started it sooner but the past is the past (Tony Malito voice.. anyone? Bueller?) Anyway...

I'm starting now! So, here is the first Bump-date for all who are curious!

All updates will run Saturday to Saturday for a full week of fun ;)

How far along? Week 15, 4.16-4.23
How big is baby? 4 inches long, the size of an Avocado!
Total weight gain/loss? Lets start at the beginning shall we? From the 8 week appt. to the 12 week appt. I lost 2lbs but I weighed on 4.16 & I am up 4, so +2 (I'll take it!)
Maternity clothes? It's a mix.. skirts and dresses will be my friend I'm finding out...
Sleep? I'm sleeping well but some nights I wake up to go to the bathroom or switch sides cause I haven't moved all night (not like me!)
Best moment this week? Finally getting a bump picture taken.. I'm a slacker haha! But for real, getting out and walking with my friend Sarah and landscaping.. felt good to move again since I've been so lethargic lately.
Symptoms? Mild all day nausea and some heartburn at night
Food cravings? I don't really crave anything to the point of I HAVE TO HAVE IT NOW but Mac and Cheese always sounds good. And Purple Cow PB Chocolate Ice cream from Mejier, that is always good too.
Food aversions? The smell of coffee brewing and bacon.. I know, what the heck kid?! Oh and the spice Cumin.. GET THAT AWAY FROM ME!

Gender? We will know in May, but the whole family thinks Girl, about 3% of those polled think Boy!
Belly button in or out? In for now
What I miss? Pizza & beer combo, unlimited Diet Coke and volleyball summer league :(
What I'm looking forward to? All nausea going away (wishful thinking right?) and finding out the gender!

Weird dreams of the week:

One of my friends was in a very scary psych ward (who? I will never tell! mmwahaha!)
I lost my grandmothers dog Sophie on Hurstbourne Ln.(super busy road in Louisville) and while looking for her, I ran into a posh millionaire that had 10 pugs.
Went on a trip to Australia with my Mother in Law and did lots of rock climbing and it turned into a game show where we battled eachother to win the golden monkey (say whhhhaaa??)

Pregnancy is weird.. I can never remember dreams!

Baby Items Purchased? None yet! But started to add things to a registry, Wowzers, some of the things they have these days!

Ok, enough about me! What about the other part of this baby duo? I wanted hubs to chime in every week so we have memories of his thoughts too.. surprisingly he agreed. This could get interesting. Here is what he had to say this week...

Daddy thoughts:
Are you having any sympathy cravings?
No but I do help you eat pickles..

Anything you are surprised by so far with pregnancy?
Like who doesn't love bacon anymore?! And I never thought you'd drink that much orange juice.

You made a human, how do you feel about that? Successful.

Any other thoughts for Week 15?
Week 15 means I'm hearing lots of complaints about clothes not fitting...

Haha what a good sport. Simple nice words for now... ;)

So there ya have it, Week 15 in a nut shell.

Did anyone have the same food aversions I did?
Early guesses on gender?
Did you have weird dreams that you vividly remember?

Share your stories in the comments :)

See ya next week!

My Sister, My Friend

2016-04-10T18:04:00.000-07:00

Words can not describe how it feels to lose a sibling. The only way I can explain it is floating through life in a bubble, waiting for it to be popped so everything can go back to normal. The truth is, it never will go back to normal. There will only be the new normal. The time before my sister passed and the time after. A void in my heart that can never be filled. It's going to be hard to move forward without her, especially this year...

On Feb 29th, the day after my birthday, I traveled to see my sister to have what she thought was a "doggy/sister" date. That morning, the hubs and I had a very important trip to the doctor. It was to see little baby Hart for the first time! (Surprise!) It was the best day of my life seeing that little life growing inside of me. I cried to the ultrasound tech because I just worried we wouldn't see a baby but there the little one was! And then, I cried a little more worrying how I was going to tell my sister. She always had trouble getting pregnant, so I was worried she was going to be mad or get even more angry at her PCOS problems. Hearing another baby victory for someone would only tear her down more. However, telling her first was going to make her feel special so I was excited about that.. She was going to know before my MOM! She was going to love rubbing that in her face ;)

On the way to tell her, I picked up a pizza with Phoebe the pug in tow. My stomach was in knots and I kept thinking of every way I could say it. Should I do it when I first get there? Should I just give her the ultrasound photo? Do I show her some fancy Pinterest Best Aunt Ever t-shirt and say I ordered it for her? How was I going to get through this?! Looking back, that wasn't hard to get through at all..

I arrived to her house and took a deep breath. Everything was going well while we ate and chit chatted. Then, I looked down at Phoebe and her face was swelling up like Goofy! She could hardly breath! Phoebe had gone to the vet to get some vaccines that day and was having an allergic reaction.

Puffy face :(

Thankfully, my sister had Benadryl and after the madness of calling my vet and wondering what emergency vet was open in her town, we had it under control with the meds. That little episode kept my mind off how I was going to tell her until it started to get late. I had to tell her soon! The ultrasound was in my new planner I had raved about to her just a few weeks ago. So, I pulled it out to show her all the bells and whistles. She said "Why do you love this planner so much?" Bingo! That was my "in". I responded "Well, it has an appointment layout which is great because I'm going to have lots of appointments coming up" and I handed her the ultrasound.

She froze and I waited... and waited... She eventually said "What am I looking at?! Is this yours?!" and I said "Yep, you are going to be an aunt (again)!" She flipped out and cried and hugged me so close and said "I am soooooooooooooo happy for you!!!! And I am crying mostly because I am so happy you didn't have to endure all the pain I have over the years. You don't have to worry about that and I'm just so glad!"

That was the last real conversation/interaction I had with my sister. It was a happy memory that I will forever cherish.

Amy went to the ER thinking she had a very bad UTI or kidney stones. After a CT scan, they saw tumors and sent her to the University of Louisville Hospital on March 18th where she stayed for 2 weeks. She had tumors on her ovaries and side. It was a rapid growing tumor that the doctors worked very hard to figure out. All they knew in the beginning was it was a high stage single cell carcinoma that could be treated but they needed more biopsies to get to the origin of it. I stayed during the day, everyday in the family waiting room. I wanted her to know I was there if she needed me. I told her I loved her everyday and I would sit with her a little everyday and watch FRIENDS, Grumpy Old Men and Golden Girls on the little hospital TV and she would wave that heart rate monitor at me like E.T. I had a really bad dream as a child involving E.T so that was her little jab at me everyday.

Things never got better and the day she had to go down for exploratory surgery/ biopsy were the last words she spoke to me. And of all things, she said to me, "Is it Facebook official? Do people know yet?" She was worried about this baby and not about herself. I laughed and teared up a bit and said "Well, no but I'm not worried about that right now, I'm worried about you!" Amy just smiled and said "I've just lost track of what day it is..." closed her eyes and then they wheeled her down to surgery.

Amy would have been so mad at me if I kept putting this news off any longer. She was so proud to know before everyone and was tired of keeping it a secret! So, here is our little announcement for the Facebook/Blog world...

I know my "Best Aunt Ever Guardian Angel" is smiling down thinking "Geez, finally Sis! The world knows!" I can just hear her now :) My little one will never physically meet her Aunt MiMi, but I am so excited to tell him/her all about how wonderful she was.

I MISS YOU SO MUCH IT HURTS SISSY! I don't know how I am going to do this without you by my side. Watch over all of us down here.. we sure struggle everyday but we know you are rocking those angel babies in Heaven and not suffering anymore.

I love you.
Until I see you again...

Christmas is over...

2014-12-31T09:07:00.001-08:00

Well, we got so busy with holidays, I never posted any Christmas decor we had up..and now its all over! *face palm* It will be taken down soon so I felt the need to least document Christmas 2014 here.

For those interested in seeing what we did with the place.. here ya go! ;)

AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Tis the Season for Traveling!

2014-11-04T09:33:00.001-08:00

Hello All!!

Don't mind me.. just doing my monthly post hahahaha! ;) But for reals, this post has some tips you might appreciate so you may want to keep reading..

First of all, I hope you all had an AMAZING time with your families for Thanksgiving and Christmas! We sure did and we of course, ate way too much and we headed back to the gym Monday to get back on track. We did a lot of traveling and sitting on our bums that long has motivated us! This whole season is the time we all get our travel on though. Whether it be just up the road to your mamma's house, downtown to a Christmas play or 3 hrs away to visit in laws for a New Years Party, we all travel.

Sometimes travel is messy and can be aggravating. There always seems to be so much stuff to remember to pack and only a certain amount of space to pack it all up in! We know this well since we still drive our high school cars that are tiny!

So, I'm here on behalf of RelayRides to share 5 tips that I use to help me (and the hubs!) stay sane while on the road.

We mainly stay around KY when we travel but this first tip I love for any distance!

1. Put your earrings/small jewelry in a pill box!

I have a few small pair of earrings I like to wear and switch out with my different outfits. It's always hard keeping up with them when I take them out and sometimes they end up in my makeup bag.. straight to the bottom ! So, along with any vitamins or other pills I need, I add my earrings to the pill box and I always know where they are.

Other things that might fit include: Small hair bands, close pins, pushpins, rings & men's cuff links!

2. Phone Charger(s)

I got this nifty little charger with TWO ports on it from a vendor at work.

It has been awesome to have on our travel adventures! It's no secret, we all love our phones. We need them charged to look up restaurants in the area, use maps to get us where we are going and also, sound hound that song on the radio so it doesn't drive us nuts not knowing the artist! GUILTY! This little charger has saved us (we only have one working port in our cars.. joys of an old car) and has helped us from having to decide who gets their phone charged up first... "I'm at 5%, give me the charger!" Disaster averted.

3. Roll it up!

I love to save space where I can, so I roll up my camis, sock and underwear and shove them in my winter boots! It's available space so why not? This in turn will free up space for you to pack some gifts back with you annnnnd keeps your boots true to form :)

7 small shirts

Rolled into 1 boot!

4. Rent for cheaper

We don't do a lot of rental cars but if our little high school cars ever broke down (knock on wood) and we needed one, we would like to save some cash doing so! One way is to download rental apps and find the cheapest rate in your travel area. Another way is using TURO (they have an app too!). They have rentals in just about every city you are traveling to and its cheaper than most rentals companies, Plus you are helping someone out by renting their car :) Win/Win
If you are traveling by air, they also have an option to rent at the airport! Check out their airport car rentals to see what they have available for you and your family

5. Combos, chocolate & a diet coke

'This is my go to snack on most of our trips.. gotta keep me happy! Happy Wife, Happy Life! But honestly, get those snacks ready a head of time so you aren't stopping to much on the way to your destination! Less in and out of the cold in my opinion especially if you have kiddos!

Bonus Tip! (#6)
We are headed south soon to pick up our little pug puppy, Phoebe. I've got my combos ready for the ride! But I heard this tip from a friend that sells oils... If you have a rather anxious pet you are traveling with, Lavender oil really can calm a pup down. A few drops massaged behind their ears and they will relax and more than likely sleep on your car ride. Find that oil here

There ya have it! Some good ol tips for travel. Some of these may be common sense but some people need a little help if they don't travel often. I hope at least one of these keeps your stress levels down this Holiday season.

Cheers to 2015!

Fall @ The Hartland

2014-10-19T12:55:00.000-07:00

I know I'm a little late on the fall home decor wagon... but I swear I've been celebrating fall for over a month now! ;)

Here is our fall front porch and a few touches around the house ..

Happy Sunday yall!

Blessed

2014-10-08T06:48:00.001-07:00

We are super blessed y'all. In every way. but especially this past week. We were featured on 3 blogs for our kitchen makeover! How cool is that?!

Sometimes I feel like all the hard work isn't paying off till I see that others appreciate what we've done. So, thank you to everyone that has commented/texted and called with kind words about our kitchen. It makes my heart happy! It might not mean much to some but it exposes us to so many people/ bloggers out there in the blog world and can open up tons of opportunity. Design has always been my passion in one way or another. Eventually, this could turn into a little side business for us and I'm grateful for the possibility of that in the future.

Check out the blogs we were featured on!

Kitchen Reveal!

2014-09-21T19:45:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!!

We finally have the pictures done of our kitchen and are SO ready to show you all! We hope you are ready to see :)

Not many words are needed here other than a HUGE thank you to my mom & dad for helping pull all of this together over last weekend. Also, so many have helped with the house along the way and we never really thanked you all. SO THANK YOU!!!! All of you (you know who you are) have helped make this house a home and that means the world to us! We love you all!

It's been a long road to get to this point and we feel blessed to have stumbled upon this house. We have also loved the opportunity to learn so much about remodeling from my dad, the poo bucket champ! ;) Ahhh, memories for miles...

Truly this has been the most fun, stressful and interesting process for a first house! Even though there is always more to conquer on this house, the heart of the home is done in our opinion :)

So, anyway, we hope you enjoy what we've done!

This was the beginning of our day...

Everything but the kitchen sink

Mom making a Thanksgiving list already :)

A little before and after action :)

I LOVE my egg basket light!

That's All folks! (yeah, we are all worn out!)

What do you think?

What is your favorite part of the kitchen?

I've linked up over at the following parties this week.. go check them out! Great blogs, with tons of inspiration! :)

Thanks for checking out our kitchen :)

Summer Projects

2014-08-03T18:19:00.000-07:00

Well blog world, I'm back! For like 2.5 seconds..

I wanted to update you all on the house stuff before August creeps up on us.. oh wait.. that's already here. Wow, I didn't blog at all in July... my bad yall, my bad.

This month is a busy one for us.. it will be filled with kids birthday parties, the worlds longest yard sale, a bachelorette party, Kings Island, Ikea, a wedding and a wedding shower! So needless to say, I'm jam packed with little time for blogging so, this may be it for a while.. again, my bad yall.

So, on to the projects that have filled our summer!

May:

One weekend in May, I decided it was time to fix our rusty old mailbox. Instead of buying a new one, I had some paint already and stencils so, it got a makeover.

Tyler made a new base for it so it would sit better on the pole. He is so handy :)

I want to start leaving notes and goodies for the mail person once a week under the HELLO. I think that would be fun! :)

June:

A pretty Saturday morning, we decided to take a trip to Bardstown for breakfast at Mammy's Kitchen. Tyler and I were walking through town and saw a cute little sign in a window with the coordinates of Bardstown. Since we got married there, I of course wanted it. Tyler gently reminded me that I could make it for much cheaper. That's why I married him.. smart, cute AND frugal ;) So, that's what I did! Once I painted it, it sat in the living room for a while. I couldn't decide where I wanted to hang it.. which is a daily struggle for me.. ha!

Finally we hung it with the rest of our wedding photos on our gallery wall in our master bedroom along with a shadow box with Tyler's boutonniere in it. It was the perfect size! Still going to add one more thing to that wall.. just gotta go make it! Easier said than done.

July:

Us girls hit up some yard sales in Indiana one weekend and on another weekend, I did a little shopping in Elizabethtown with my mom and sister.. Here are a couple of my finds for the house :)

I found this type set drawer for $20 in Indiana! Fan courtesy of my MIL :)

The rug I found in E-town (after my unfortunate "pink" rug incident left me looking for something new.. see below)

I found that cute blue pillow for the couch in E-town as well, then came home and decided to put some mason jars on my ugly light. Still trying to sell my original light but this is cute for now.

A few weekends ago, I spotted some old windows on a FB yard sale site, so I snagged those puppies! That wall was in need of something and those windows were calling my name. I still plan on hanging something under the windows that will hold bath soaps, towels, candles & salts. All the goodies for a bath :)

In late July, our big project has been getting the trim up in the sun room and all the windows in and cleaned! Next up is sanding more holes, dusting everything off and painting! Here is a shot of the house WITHOUT plastic on the back and June enjoying the new trim.

Thank goodness all that plastic is gone. Much better!

Thanks for reading yall! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of the place ;)

Happy August !

I'm linking up with these lovely ladies this week :)

Favorite Things Friday

2014-06-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday friends!

I'm a little late in posting but I wanted to share a few things that caught my eye this week.. Enjoy!

PS- Have a Happy Fathers Day weekend! Hug and kiss your dad if you can :)

Favorite Island

Favorite Summer Look

Favorite Sink

Favorite Summer Hair Accessory

Favorite Restaurant Design

Favorite Quote

Love you Daddy xoxo

A Hartland Sign

2014-06-10T14:32:00.002-07:00

So, loooooooooooooong ago I worked on this project, hung it up and forgot to tell you all about it!

I wanted something to go over my sink in the kitchen so I went out to our pile of wood and picked a piece out that would fit. I decided to go with the name of our blog and make it look like the title on the homepage. Being free handed, I don't think it turned out too bad! Check it out :)

I used the dark walnut stain from Minwax.

Yes, we still need to tile our back splash (a summer project for sure)

An official sign for the Hartland :)

Cheeseburger in paradise

2014-06-04T10:42:00.003-07:00

Well people... I didn't know that I could make a cheeseburger cake... but I did. First let me explain why I did this crazy cake. This year marked 3 years that my grandpa went to his heavenly home. Every year, we eat a cheeseburger in memory of him (with extra pickle) since it was one of his favorites and one of his last meals. My nanny (aka Graham Cracka-- yeah shes cool like that) celebrates her birthday in May and we decided to get her a grill and have a burger themed party! I was in charge of the cake so, I decided on making it epic this year... I mean, why not?!

While I am no expert on the art of cake making, I thought it would be fun to document my first artsy cake and explain how to do it in case anyone out there needs to make one. It was a big cake y'all so you could totally cut the "burger" in half and tweak this how you like (add onions or bacon?)

Anyway, here is my the process for all to see!

My ingredients:

-1 yellow cake mix (makes two small rounds)

-1 Devils Food cake mix (filled up the pan more and made cupcakes with the rest)

-eggs/oil/water for the cakes

-Food coloring

-Sugar cookies

-2 Cans whipped icing (one for coloring and one for mixing the caramel icing for the buns)

(I don't suggest the whipped icing-- go homemade if you can! It was too runny)

-Caramel flavor packet

-Green cookie gel (suggest doing it with piping and different icing, this was also too runny)

So, cake basics-- let it cool completely before icing (do a crumb coat and add that icing layer on the top so the cake doesn't slip off the next layer)

Next add your green goop aka lettuce in this example, and plop the burger on top of that. My favorite part was the cheese (see how I mixed colors below) I thought it looked like the melted ball park nacho cheese, which is one of my favorites to get at a ball game. Anyway,. I made a star pattern so the cheese was hanging at 5 different spots. That also counted as my icing layer.

Pop the sugar cookies in the oven while you are doing the cheese. Also, taste test the cookies just to make sure no one will get sick. A crucial step. Gotta be safe.

After the cookies cooled, I did red icing layer for "ketchup" and used the same icing for the cookie tomato. The green cookie is supposed to be pickles. I wish they would have looked better but I was working with what I had :) You could try fondant for the toppings if you'd like. Shaping fondant I think would help make it more realistic.

Plop the bun on top, icing it with the caramel icing and add your white sesame seeds. DONE!

My Graham Cracker loved her cake :)

And that is how a cheeseburger cake is made (sorta...)

And I'm linking up over on the Happy Housie & Homecoming Blog this week! Go check out all the awesome projects :)

Favorite Things Friday

2014-05-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday! :)

It's Favorite Things Friday (I know, I've slacked... gosh story of my life)

Here are a few of my favorites I've seen lately...

Favorite Beach House (flowers/cabinet/doorknob=LOVE)

Favorite Small Kitchen Reno

Favorite Quilt Pattern

Favorite Card Catalog/dresser

Favorite Quote/Verse

Have a wonderful weekend!

Rug,table & wreath-DONE!

2014-04-28T13:23:00.001-07:00

Hi, how yall doin'?!
It's been a while since I posted.. #sorrynotsorry #kindasorry #apparentlyihavereaders #thankssororitysistersforreading! Ok, enough hash tags cause that's a little annoying.. but do secretly love them.

Anyway, we have actually gotten some stuff done around here! Surprised? Yeah, me too. Here we go!

OH MY STARS, WE FINALLY GOT A RUG!

If any of you talk to me on the regular, you know I have been ~~whining~~ wanting a rug to complete our living room for about 6 months (we have been in the house a year almost! WHAT?!) We've always had more important things to pay for like those things called bills, propane and loans. fun. However, one weekend after a pay day we went to World Market and scored the one I had been eyeing for $139.99 (World Market member {woot!} scored me $10 off!). It's an 7x9 jute rug that actually feels pretty good on bare feet. (please disregard the mess!)

I think it makes the room more cozy. I love my floors but goodness it sounded like a warehouse without any sound buffer. Its still not perfect in there, but we are making progress. I have a list going for every room in the house...here are the main things I still want to add to the living room:

1. Sofa table with some basket storage-- maybe a DIY
2. Coffee table that my dad and I will DIY (kind of like this)
3. A new couch (I really would love a sectional. I don't LOVE my couch, I just like it)
4. I gotta do something on that "entry wall" below, but I'm fresh out of ideas...

5. Turn current coffee table into a bench for under the window, extra seating
6. Screen for the fire place
7. Hang art, like everywhere.
8. Paint the back of the front door (yes its still ugly...)

Our next project... the $5 Goodwill coffee table Tyler has had since he moved here 3+ years ago...

The before:

And June posing with the old table on her 1 year birthday :)

This is just temporary but the top was so beat up (see above) I couldn't look at it anymore. It's a nice little upgrade for the space.

On to the next completed project--- a wreath!

I love having a wreath up year round. I worked on a cupcake liner wreath with my mom a few weekends back and its was so cute...

However, moms are always right when they say "it shouldn't stay outside cause it will warp when the first rain comes through..." womp womp. Next year, I'll do it again and leave it inside. So, I created another spring wreath after that failed. I took it outside on the front porch and enjoyed the day and my little project.. love days where I can do that! #mykindoffun

another hash tag.. sorry.

My finished DIY wreath that is lasting the rain storms:

Hope you all enjoyed the updates! Let me know what you think!

I'll be back with a few more posts this week :)

Favorite Things Friday: C-A-T-S

2014-03-28T06:27:00.001-07:00

It's Friday!!! And the CATS play tonight... #bbn

onto Friday Faves...

#1 Wouldn't this be perfect for your door for spring? I think so :)
#2 I thought this would be so cute in a bathroom.. if your into cats like me!
#3 I just need.
#4 Would be great for a tree or two out back!
#5 Cute! Could be a fun DIY project after the CATS win tonight.... #sorrynotsorry

Happy Fri-YAY to you!

1. UK Wreath 2. Cat Poster 3.Cat Ring 4. Cat Birdfeeder 5. C-A-T-S Wall Art

Favorite Things Friday

2014-03-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

So, lots of bloggers do a "Friday Faves" post and I'm tots jumping on that bandwagon. I enjoy reading theirs & learning new things.. and hope people will enjoy mine! Lets see how many Fridays I will keep this up.. hardy har har!

Since I've been doing a fair amount of running lately (hello Triple Crown!), I will dedicate this Friday to some fun running/workout type things...

1. This post had me cracking up.. I've been known to do a few of these... but not the poo or pee one (thankfully!)

link

2. If you want to get into running, this is a good place to start!

3. I got a kettle bell for my birthday and I love it! Target has a good variety if you want one :)

4. I really need a place for all my bibs and medals.. Currently they are in the coat closet, in the back seat of Tyler's car and prolly a few still at my moms house... So, I'm kinda sorta loving the idea of one of these:

5. I have a 10Miler on the 22nd, a 5k on the 30th (pending...) and a Mini Marathon on April 19th so someone please show up with an awesome sign like one of these.....

It will make my year.

Happy Friday yall! Have a wonderful weekend!! :D

Master Bedroom/Gallery Wall Update

2014-03-02T14:32:00.003-08:00

A while back I shared a instagram photo of a bunch of frames on the floor.. begging to be nailed to our master bedroom wall.

I'm finally getting around to sharing our process and

we hope you enjoy the end result as much as we do!

First, I laid out all the frames on the ground in front of our dresser (that we scored on Craigslist!) After I had all the frames where I wanted, I cut newspaper the size of all the frames and taped them to the wall in the pattern I had laid on the floor.

With a little tweaking here and there, some second guessing and lots of hunting Pinterest for last min ideas, I was ready to hang. I rescued Tyler from a game of Call of Duty

and we got to leveling/hanging!

Like the H we hung up? That was from our wedding :)

Oh, and sorry for the poor lighting.. we were doing this at night and my iPhone

was the only thing handy.

I don't know who this guy is but it made the mundane task of taping

newspaper on the wall a little more fun.

So, side note. Not sure what I've shared about the curtains in our room but here they are. They are from Ikea (the Vivan panel) Also, we hung up more art in the frames there on the side. I filled two $2 frames from a flea market with our little guest hearts that people filled out at our wedding :)

And now back to the gallery wall!

Most of the frames I had collected over time. The horseshoe came from a friends wedding, the keys & tin tray (painted with chalkboard paint) are from Kalvin Kennets in Monticello KY and some of the others were wedding gifts.

We used a combination of small picture hanging hardware/nails and 3m Velcro. It didn't take very long to complete and it was fairly easy! Since the above photo,

I have changed the chalk board to this:

And I plan on doing some sort of art on the white canvas in case you were wondering what in the world that was all about..

So, there ya have it! Gallery wall complete.

Shout out to Honey Heart Photography for my beautiful wedding photos that I finally did something with! You guys rock!

Let me know what you think in the comments!

Thanks for reading :)

Our Chalk Painted Kitchen Table

2014-02-02T16:31:00.002-08:00

The Annie Sloan brand of Chalk Paint has been swirling around the internet on many blogs & Pinterest for quite some time...It looked easy enough for me to do, so I took on the challenge.

My $30 Craigslist table was dying for a makeover!

See ugly photo below:

With Chalk paint, you don't have to prep your furniture beforehand (like sanding). However, our table had a bum leg and a few huge knicks on the sides that needed wood filler, so I had to sand those.. but that was it for prep!

Since my chairs were from another kitchen table set, the wood color wasn't the same as the table.

So, in order for the darker to show through when you sand for the distressed look, I put on a thick layer of French Linen around every "corner/edge" of the chairs. A little goes a long way so I got a tiny sample of that color.

Drying time was fairly quick! Next, I put on the first coat of Pure White. Since my chairs had spindles I found it quite hard to get in between and keep it stroke free but the second layer covers up most of that.

And some progress photos ...

Sorry for the poor quality photos, but I wanted to document the process.

After all the coats were dry (about 2 on each) all I did was sand it down to my "distressed" liking. The last step was to apply the wax to everything. This helps seal everything in. Also, a little goes a long way with the step too. I have wax for dayyyys. Too bad it doesnt work on eyebrows. Bummer.

I went over the table top a few times since that will be the most used area.

We used it for a Friendsgiving meal and it did just fine!

So, anyway...

I'm just now getting around to snapping some better photos of the finished product... Enjoy!

Let me know what you think! We love it :)

I'm linking up over at the following fabulous blogs:

Happy New Year!

2014-01-01T11:59:00.001-08:00

It's finally 2014!!

2013 was awesome and I can't wait to see what happens this year!
Check out some highlights here:

http://flipagram.com/f/AY3z7ygPyX

This year, I'll be turning 27. My favorite number! So, to celebrate what will be the best year ever, I'm naming it the year of 27 & I'm doing 27 things I've always wanted to do. I won't share my whole list (some are more private) but a few include:

A New York trip (never been!)
Read through the Bible
Crochet a blanket
Become debt free from credit cards(already getting close)
Spend more time with family
Morning workouts
Blog more!

Some are small, some cost money and some are just fun but all are attainable in a year's time. I want to chronicle all this fun by using this hash tag: #theyearof27. I will also blog about what I complete along the way!

Here's to a great new year... Make it count y'all!

Posted via Blogaway