Outdoor lighting decisions

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I thought outdoor lighting would be easier to pick than indoor….it wasn’t 😳

When we had our lighting design meeting, the designer showed us a few options but they all had a traditional look. We explained we wanted something modern. She handed us a book, told us to look through it and left. We found one we sort of liked but she told us we couldn’t have it because we wanted it in black and they didn’t make black. Oddly enough the picture featured was a black sample and the color option was listed as available. But whatever, we didn’t want to argue with her so we said ok we will find something else. She came back a bit later and told us we only had a few minutes left before she had to go and needed us to make a decision. So we picked a light that we thought was ok.

Fast forward a few weeks later. We went to the showroom of Avenue Lighting to look at chandeliers. On their wall of outdoor lighting we saw the perfect lights! It was exactly what I envisioned in my head. Something modern yet functional. I wanted a light that actually gave off some light without feeling intrusive. I also wanted a light that shined up AND down. Our design lady that we originally met with only gave us options of one or the other (up or down) not both.

I am incredibly happy with our choice. It’s literally the perfect light for our house! Again this goes to show you shouldn’t let someone push you to make a decision. Take your time and what you’re looking for will come to you!

Collaboration with Born Tough and Elite Sports

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As a former college athlete I always want to make sure I train safe. I am excited to announce my collaboration with Born Tough and Elite Sports.

Born Tough is a sportswear company that fits the need for modern sportswear. Their sportswear is true to size and looks great in the gym or while out running errands! With dedicated phone pockets, to carefully placed headphone loops, they assure I can listen to my favorite music or talk on the phone without hindrance.

Elite Sports offers high quality and stylish martial arts gear! Their gear allows you to train without worrying about tears. Their gear is warrantied which is something most companies on the industry won’t do!

I am excited to share product reviews with my blog followers! Check out their websites and keep an eye out for my next post on them!

https://www.borntough.com/

https://www.elitesports.com/

Pregnancy leg day

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I’m a little over 6 months pregnant now. My belly is getting bigger which means movements while working out are getting more difficult. However this isn’t stopping me from working out! Workouts are the one thing keeping up my strength and energy for the boys!

Today was a leg workout. 4 sets of 12! 💪🏻

Third times the charm

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Third times the charm!! Our third island top went in! Yes I said third 🤦🏼‍♀️ The first one was cracked when it was installed. It was a bit defeating because the first one was so beautiful.

The supplier was able to get us a second slab of the stone. However, while they were cutting the slab at their facility, it cracked too! This isn’t a soft stone so it’s crazy we had two cracking issues. I was beginning to think this slab just wasn’t meant to be. I went out of my comfort zone when I picked it so I felt like the universe was telling me I should have kept it simple.

The stone company was able to get us a third slab of the same stone. We got lucky because this third slab is the most beautiful of them all!! It has so much veining to it compared to the others. It was installed with no issues this time! It’s such a relief because I had my heart set on this stone. The last thing I wanted to do was make another design choice this far in the building process!

Introducing your kids to a new baby

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It’s hard to believe this was just 3 years ago! My little guy has gotten so big so fast. In a few short months we will be a family of 5! Fingers crossed Ryder handles baby #3 a little better than he did with Camden.😳

When I first brought Camden home from the hospital, if you were holding him, Ryder would just sit there and give you dirty looks. He would refuse to come near anyone that was holding Camden. He would actually tell me to put Camden down. He was not a fan. That first month was definitely one of the hardest I’d ever experienced. It broke my heart that Ryder had such a hard time.

Hopefully now that he’s been around Camden so long he understands that a new baby isn’t a “threat.” He’s so good with Camden now and even tries to share with him (sometimes).

I did screw up with Ryder in the beginning when I had Camden. I thought after Camden was born I needed to give Ryder a ton of attention to make up for the shared attention that was about to happen. People kept telling me Ryder was going to get jealous and would need a lot of individual attention. I shouldn’t have listened to them.

I had my mom spend a lot of time with Ryder as well thinking that individual attention was needed because of everyone’s comments. That actually made Ryders jealousy worse. When he actually did spend time around Camden and I, it was really bad. He just couldn’t handle it and would have melt downs and be extremely upset. What I should have done is let Ryder spend time around just me and Camden the minute I brought him home. I should have gotten him used to being around Camden right away so he could see he and baby will both get my attention. I think if I’d done that, it may have not taken so long for Ryder to adjust to Camden. By giving him too much individual attention, it’s what he expected all the time and wasn’t getting used to having to share.

Obviously now things are ok. We have our days where one kid needs more attention than the other. But for the most part they both understand they have to share moms attention and that they will both get the attention they need. I definitely learned a lot that first time around. I think I have the hang of it this second time. Fingers crossed!

Close to closing

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We are just 2 1/2 weeks from our closing date! We have waited 15 months for this day. It’s sort of strange to think it’s almost here. It actually doesn’t feel real yet. It’s going to be an incredibly surreal feeling to actually be handed the keys!

These video updates we have done are not only for my husband and I, but something fun for us to show the boys one day. We want to be able to show them how the house was built and the progression of it. I hope it’ll help them appreciate the house that much more. 💙

Pregnancy workout

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Im now a little over 5 months pregnant and I’m not supposed to do full on ab exercises. However, my doctor did encourage workouts that include some core! She said this will help with belly strain due to weight of baby as well as strength for labor! So I’m doing legs mixed with core. I haven’t used sliding discs in so long. They’re definitely harder to use when pregnant! I don’t have the stability I had pre baby.

For this workout I did 4 sets of 15 on each leg (30 total) for the toe point balance slides. 4 sets of 20 on each leg (40 total) for the mountain climbers. Then 4 sets of 15 on each leg (30 total) for the plank leg slides.

Stay at home parents

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One weekend my husband asked me what we had planned for the day. I told him nothing. We actually didn’t have anything scheduled. His exact response was “you mean we have nothing to do and are going to sit in the house ALL day?” I literally thought to myself “yes Chris we are, welcome to my life every day as a stay at home mom.”

Being a stay at home parent is NOT easy. Especially after having spent 8 years in a corporate job then a few years as a teacher. I was used to being around people. So it’s a very different world when you’re around one or two little ones all day, every day. We have our good days and bad at home. Obviously the bad days make it a lot harder on you mentally.

Don’t get me wrong, I love spending every minute of every day with my kids. I love that I don’t miss a second of anything they do. But it is very difficult not seeing adults regularly or having any adults to converse with daily like you would at an office job. For a good two years my oldest didn’t really talk. I would actually leave the tv on all day to Friends just so I had the sound of adults to listen to.

Anyone who says being a stay at home mom is easy has clearly not done it or has stay at home amnesia and forgotten how difficult it is. It takes a toll on you physically and mentally. I’ll be honest, I think being a stay at home mom has been harder on me psychologically and emotionally than either of my previous jobs were.

If you are a stay at home mom(or dad), you deserve the biggest gift in the world. If you know a stay at home mom, remember to have empathy for them. They’re doing a thankless job that they love but also really wears on them.

Kitchen updates

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A little more progress has been made on our kitchen! The upper and lower cabinet lighting has started going in! When it’s complete, every cabinet will have an upper light over it and a lower light below it. My husband and I tend to be those people who don’t regularly use overhead lights. We always turn on the cabinet lighting as our “every day” lighting. It’s bright enough to light up the room but isn’t intrusive. Since we have those huge floor to ceiling windows in the kitchen we won’t be lacking in light.

Our island counter top went in and it looks beautiful! We added a 3 inch drop edge to the island. What that means is, they attach a 3 inch piece of marble to the edge of the island giving it a thicker look all the way around. It really makes the island look more beefy and bold. It also added an extra 2 inches to the island height. We had already raised our island above standard height, so now it’s even taller! I’m only 5’3. The island comes up pretty high on me, but not too high that it’s unusable. Instead of leaning over at the island to do things (standard counters hit me about waist height), everything will be right at arm level (the new ones hit at my lower rib cage).

The kitchen is coming along so well. We have one month to go. I can’t wait for everything to be finished out. I’m dying to get back to having a kitchen of my own!

Toddler meltdowns

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My toddler is in a stage of meltdowns. Even though he talks he’s still not able to voice or even truly understand all his feelings. He’s still learning. There’s two main causes for them we have learned.

The newest thing that causes meltdowns is hunger. He gets so busy playing some mornings that he doesn’t eat or will eat just a few bites of his breakfast. I get so distracted with the baby sometimes that I don’t notice Ryder hasn’t eaten or barely eaten his food. By 10am we will have multiple meltdowns if this happens. And it’s all due to hunger. When the meltdown happens, if we sit him at the table and get food in him, it’s like he becomes a different child. His attitude changes and you can literally see him go from mad, to calm and happy.

The other thing that causes major meltdowns is tiredness. If he’s overly exhausted he doesn’t understand the feeling so he has a meltdown. The only thing to fix this is obviously sleep. And of course he has a meltdown when we tell him it’s nap or bedtime. If I keep him on schedule and get him down for a nap before the tiredness hits I can usually avoid a melt down. But there are days that he’s been super busy and even when I stay on schedule, a meltdown is just unavoidable.

The toddler stage is super difficult, for you and your child. You’re both learning to understand their emotions and what causes them to feel a certain way. 💙