BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!

We have officially named our BABY BOY!! It was a LONG and painful process....but we are pleased to announce....

Drum roll, please!!!

Brody Tyler Watson

Remodel update

A lot of progress has been made on the house since my last entry. Unfortunately the progress doesn't show up as well in pictures, but I've still got some good ones to show. My last update showed the workers finishing up the roof structure. In looking back at where we were a month ago, it certainly makes me realize how much progress has actually occured! In my last post, we were praying for no rain so that the roof wouldn't leak until it was dried in. Well...as typical...it rained at 3am, no less!! I woke up to hearing drip from the new roof to the old roof and inside the fireplace. I woke Damon up (who could sleep through a tornado) and he had to brave the storm and try to get a tarp over the section of roof that wasn't protected. It only rained for an 1 hour or 2, but it was a harsh way to wake up out of a dead sleep, I promise you. That day the men finished drying in the roof with tar paper and we felt VERY relieved!

The next hurdle that occurred again involved an inspection. Apparently the shingles could not be placed until the framing inspection was complete which includes walls framed out, plumbing and electrical. I'm not sure why there needs to be inside walls in place in order to put a roof on, but those are the rules. Well, supposedly a framing inspection also includes the windows being in place and our windows were very late arriving. After about a week and a half delay the windows arrived and were installed and the roof was FINALLY shingled. The next step was stucco and hardy board. It was really neat to drive home and see the exterior finished out to look like one house instead of 2 houses connected. We had them remove the 'decorative' boarders from around the windows because we didn't like it. I don't think stucco and a ranch style house really go together but by removing the boarders around the windows and adding the hardy board accents I think it looks AMAZING!

Stairs to bonus room over garage

Bonus Room over garage

Trusses over old roof and MORE STORAGE SPACE!!

There will be a door across from bonus room entering new attic space.

Stucco in progress and removing window boarders

Stucco application and windows

Front view after stucco and hardy board

Garage side view

Rear View

Other side view

The next week was Thanksgiving, so we had insulation added and all the finish work to get ready for sheet rock this week. This week they have already put most of the sheet rock on the ceiling and will be starting on the walls soon. Now that will be exciting. They also officially started 'invading' the inside of the house. We are having 5" baseboards placed in the new part of the house and so we are having them replace the old baseboards so the house will match and look uniform. That has been an ordeal because we are having to move a lot of furniture and are starting to live with boxes stacked up everywhere. Luckily I'm pregnant, so I've been able to leave most of the hard work to Damon. LOL! We got a 'PODS-type' trailer brought to the yard to store some stuff in too. That will make it easier, I think. In my mind, I feel like we are going to have soooo much more room, but seeing what Damon is pulling out of every nook and cranny that I've been shoving stuff in I think I'll be surprised how fast we fill up the new house! The good part is that we are getting there, the bad part is that I'm realizing how dirty my house is!! The carpet has taken a serious hit since the construction started. We sweep loads of dirt every day from the front and back door and it is visibly starting to show on the carpet. Luckily all the carpet in the main part of the house is being replaced, but it is starting to be UGLY to look at. The baseboards have been in serious need of repainting for years and the dust behind furniture that hasn't moved in 8 years is horrifying. Hopefully the workers don't think we are too disgusting because I'm beginning to wonder myself.

In my mind I was thinking that the last month wasn't super productive but it is quite amazing to look back and see the actual progress. When I look at the photos we've taken and how much work has been done each week it really is a lot. I know it feels like an eternity because we are soooo excited to be finished and to have some peace and quiet, but the few months of headache will totally be worth it!

Pregnancy update

Well...I'm still pregnant. LOL!!

I am doing a lot better with the nausea thankfully. I still have moments, but for the most part I think that is just my stomach running out of room in there. I don't feel as exhausted as I did in the 1st trimester, but I can definitely tell that I'm approaching the end of the pregnancy since I'm not sleeping as well. I frequently wake up from being uncomfortable, but thankfully I'm quickly able to go back to sleep. I know that will only get progressively worse, so I'm trying to rest as much as I can. The baby is moving A LOT, but it hasn't gotten to those painful moves yet. Rylee still hasn't felt him kick but she really isn't patient enough to wait. I'm almost looking forward to the hiccups so that there will be regular movements that she can feel. She got a big 'kick' out of feeling her little cousin in my sister-in-law's belly. My last doctor appointment was the week before Thanksgiving. I was still under 20 lbs of weight gain, but I think Thanksgiving probably put me over! Oh well. I'm right on track for how I gained weight with Rylee so hopefully he'll be a tiny thing, too!! I passed my glucose test, so that was good. I didn't expect to have a problem, but you never know. The Braxton-Hix contractions are still very regular. There was a night last week after a busy work schedule that I had about 7 contractions/hour for several hours in a row. That is higher than they want to see, so I've really got to relax more... Yeah Right! I have a 3 year old...it's Christmas...getting ready for baby #2...and a house remodel... Relaxation isn't on my to do list right now even as much as I'd like for it to be! The latest development in the pregnancy is that I've developed this horrendous itching. I don't have a visible rash for the most part, but I itch ALL over, ALL day long! It is CRAZY. I called my dr on Monday after about a week of suffering and they said it is common in the 3rd trimester which I've officially hit. So...I had labs drawn this morning to measure my liver function and bile salts. I guess the itching is a potential sign of things going on with the liver and gall bladder. I don't think there is much that they do about the itching but it could lead to an early induction. I'm certainly not looking forward to 2 more months of itching. Hopefully it is a false alarm and my blood work will come back normal... I think I should get the results back by Friday. I have another Dr appointment next week and then I start going every 2 weeks. It is fun to go in and hear the baby's heartbeat, but working something else into my schedule isn't the easiest thing to do. The picture I posted was actually from last week, but it is the most current one I've got. Hopefully I won't let so much time lapse before my next posts. I was noticing on the 3D pregnancy widget on my blog page that I only have 75 days to go...that is oh so exciting and oh so scary at the same time. I want to get a 3D ultrasound soon, because I'm anxious to see him again....want to make sure it is still a boy! LOL!

Official CVS video debut

For those of you that are new to my blog...go back and check out the reportings of my trip to Dallas, TX on 9/11/2009!!

After months of waiting, I finally received a copy of the video CVS produced of my experience as a pharmacist. My story, along with 2 others was presented at a conference in Dallas, TX to over 2,000 CVS employees. The video also includes the closing comments of the conference by the CEO of CVS. I wasn't able to remove the other 2 videos or Tom Ryan's comments, so you'll have to watch or fast forward. I feel like their videos are more commercial and mine is more 'Rescue 911', but it was still an honor to be chosen!! I also couldn't figure out how to add the video to this post, so I added it as a widget to my page. If you scroll all the way down to the bottom you'll be able to view the video.

Without further ado...I am proud to share with you my 5 minutes of fame!!

ENJOY!!

P.S. Please ignore the low cut blouse!! (I forgot my tank top and am still having post traumatic stress from the whole experience!) LOL!!

Rylee's 3rd Birthday

I can't believe my baby girl is 3 years old!! Her birthday was November 16th and we had a weekend of celebration. Since our house is under construction we couldn't do our traditional birthday party at the house so I had to come up with an alternative plan. I'm not much of a risk taker, so planning a park day was too nerve wracking for me. We don't have a Chuck E. Cheese in Gainesville and I didn't feel like she was old enough to attempt a bowling party yet. So...we decided to go to Build-A-Bear in the mall on Friday, the 13th. Not the best day...but I'm not much into superstitions. We invited several of her friends for the party and then went to the food court for lunch and a YUMMY Mrs. Field's cookie! The kids seemed to enjoy it...and for the most part it was a stress-free party for me! It was a bit chaotic actually building the 'bears' since the kids ranged from 18 months old to 4 years old, but I will say that just showing up and leaving the clean up to someone else was NICE!!

On her actual birthday she celebrated again. Nanny and Papa took her to Walmart to pick out her very own cake and to the park just for fun! She had a GREAT day. That night, I made lasagna and Caesar salad for us and Nanny and Papa and Uncle Deagan and Aunt Lis!

It was so enjoyable to watch her open her gifts this year. She would peek inside the bags and then literally start shaking with excitement while yelling, "Oh my goodness, Oh my goodness!!" It was so much fun. Uncle Deagan said it was more fun than his birthday. It really was very enjoyable! We got her a Baby Alive to help her with adjusting to the new baby in February. Nanny and Papa got her her very own camera...'which no one can take away!' She got LOTS of Barbie stuff which she LOVES and plays with EVERY day and tons of other goodies, too!

I said it before...I'll say it again... I can't believe my baby is 3 years old! My how the time has flown and how blessed I feel to be her Mommy!

Halloween 2009

I had a hard time deciding what Rylee would be for Halloween this year. She isn't into anything except maybe Mickey Mouse and I just don't like the overly commercialized costumes...besides the fact that the name brand costumes cost a FORTUNE. I figured this is probably my last year to really get to pick what she dresses up as, so after much debate I decided to let her be a cowgirl. My sister-in-law made her a cowgirl dress up outfit for her 2nd birthday and it fits her perfectly right now so I really only had to add a shirt and boots and guns, of course, to complete the look. I was gonna put her in a hat, but she said she wanted pigtails. I must say that that she was too cute!! I also included a picture of her with her new little cousin, Caelyn. She sure is proud of her...when she isn't jealous!! LOL!

We have Trunk or Treat at our church, so we didn't have to go door-to-door to fill up her pumpkin. I must say it is MUCH easier and a lot of fun seeing all our friends and their kids in costume. It was a fun night!

Disney

Ok...so I've been MIA for over a month now! I've been so unbelievably busy yet I can't seem to figure out exactly what I've accomplished. I think the 3rd trimester of pregnancy is catching up and the lack of sleep due to construction is not helping with my level of fatigue!! I plan to post several updates to try and catch up, so hold on for the ride!

We took Rylee to her first Disney trip on October 30th. My sister and her family were at Disney for the week and we made a day trip to see Mickey! I have never been much of a Disney buff... I don't get into the over commercialized stuff that is out there, but let me just say that Rylee is in LOVE with Mickey and has been for a while now. She was sooo excited to get to go and her excitement was very infectious. Damon and I were tickled pink to get to take her and see her experience Disney for the 1st time. It truly was magical watching her! My brother-in-law treated us to lunch with Pooh and Friends, which scared her to no end, but it was fun anyway...and the food was fabulous! She was absolutely mesmerized by the princesses, but totally petrified of the other characters. We decided not to wait in the VERY long line to let her see Mickey up close for fear of the the trauma it might cause, but she LOVED watching Mickey perform at Cinderella's Castle and in the parade. We left the park at just before dark and rode the monorail back to my sister's hotel. They had a pool where the kids could cool off and play. It overlooked a 'lagoon' and you could see fireworks over Cinderella's Castle to end the evening. As always, the day with my sister and her family went way too fast, but we had an amazing time. The pictures don't do justice to the fun we had, but I thought I'd share some anyway. I must say that we will definitely be going back!!

Mr. Sensitive (a.k.a. My Husband)

The other night I was laying on the couch watching TV...Rylee was already asleep...and Damon was laying on the floor. The baby started kicking pretty hard and since Damon hadn't had a chance to feel him yet, I asked if he wanted to feel. Of course, Damon jumped up at the chance. The baby kept up the kicks and Damon was impressed with how strong his little man is already. I'm laying there cherishing this special moment when Daddy first feels his son when Mr. Sensitive arrives... Damon kept trying to feel the baby kicking around my belly button and I kept having to move his hand a little lower. I told Damon that the baby isn't that high yet and he proceeded to grab a 'roll' above my belly button and say, "Then what's all this?!?" OMG! He never did have much tact!! LOL!! Luckily my pregnancy hormones must not have been raging because I was able to laugh hysterically at how insensitive he had been. I so gingerly explained to him that everything that used to take up the space below my belly button was now being pushed upwards... I must admit that I do feel a bit self conscious about the baby weight and his comment did NOT help. He really has got to learn how to think it and not say it!!

I have several friends who are expecting or have recently had babies that are also blogging. Their husbands have periodically posted touching sentiments about how wonderfully courageous and strong their wives have been during the pregnancy, delivery and etc. Not my husband!! I'm really not into all the sappiness, but come on!! A little sensitivity would be just fine!

10-23-2009 - What did my old house look like?

This is a side view so that you can see the look of the completed roofline.


It was about 6:30pm on Friday night and these fellas were busting butt to try and get the last bit finished before the weekend. As if it needs explaining...this is a front view of the house! I had to go on the other side of the fence to get the whole house in one view! SWEET!


Side view from the other end of the house.


View from the side showing the two houses joined together under one roof line. It took them one day to place the trusses for the back half and the other end of the house and it has taken 3 days to do the rest. It took some serious engineering, but it is pretty cool!!

View from the back of the house...

We have seen some unbelievable progress this week. It is hard to even picture what the house looked like before! My hubby is the best to have designed this project!! I could have never imagined that our little 'ole house could be anything other than what it was. He is soooo talented!!

We are now PRAYING that it won't rain over the weekend. The framers finished up the roof tonight at about 7:30pm. They removed the chimney today and had to peel back some of the old shingles in order to set the trusses on the block wall. Even though there is OSB covering the trusses, it is NOT dried in! They covered it with plastic before they left, but I'm sure a good Florida rain would make for some roof leaks! Damon thought they would come out tomorrow and put the tar paper on, but the inspector has to come out and see the nails in the OSB before they can cover it with tar paper! No government work occurs on the weekend, so that'll get done on Monday and then they'll tar paper it and hopefully shingle it next week. Cox Communications is coming out tomorrow to move our phone/cable line...which should fix the phone problems we've had for the last 2 weeks. We also have it scheduled to do work on the plumbing and electrical next week, too!

Aside from the house, I'm getting excited for an upcoming week off! My sister and her family is coming to Disney World for the week. Unfortunately Damon can't get much time off, so we are only planning to drive down for the day to take Rylee to Magic Kingdom with them. I thought about staying a few extra day since I have the time off, but I don't want to stay in a hotel by myself and I can't afford the one they are staying at! Oh well...almost 6 months pregnant and a 2 year old will probably make the one day we are there PLENTY of time with Mickey. She is so excited. Damon pulled it up on the website yesterday and was showing it to Rylee. She was so amazingly excited! Damon said he actually got chill bumps from watching her get so excited!! She tends to be frightened of big characters, so I hope she doesn't freak out over all the Disney characters, but I think she'll have a good time regardless. At this point we plan to go on Friday...I'm gonna watch the weather and if it looks like rain, we may have to alter the plans.

10-21-2009 - Interior

View of the dining room and a bathroom. To the left you can see where the french doors will be leading out into the back yard. To the right is the current glass sliding doors that will become a doorway into the existing house.


View of the living room from the dining room.


View of master bedroom from the doorway in the living room.

This is an unusual view. To the left you can see a 'hallway'. At the far end will become Rylee's new closet and at this end will be stairs leading to the bonus room over the garage. To the right you can see one of the master closets. Behind the closet is the garage.

View of master bathroom. Master bedroom is to the right. The closets in the previous picture are behind me where I'm taking the picture.

10-21-2009 - Unbelievable!

This is a view of the front corner of the house. You can see the trusses peering over the top of the current roof. They started the front porch covering today. You can see the headers over the porch.


This is a view of the end of the house.


This is a view from the back right corner of the house. From left to right on the bottom, you can see another shower window, bathroom window over the garden tub, and the garage opening. On top is a view of the bonus room over the garage.

This is a view from the back left corner of the house. You can see the progress of covering the trusses. The openings from left to right will be...french doors into the living room, 2 living room windows, 2 bedroom windows, water closet window, shower window. Also notice...we have very little grass an a LOT of dirt!! Ha!

View of the end of the house. This view shows the current roof and half of the new roof! They have to frame the rest of the trusses by hand...that should begin tomorrow!! The windows on the new addition will be in the dining room and a bathroom.

10-20-2009 (Trusses)

We didn't get many good pictures of the trusses because Damon and I didn't get home until after dark. They trussed half the house in ONE day and framed a lot on the inside, too! Amazing how much progress is taking place!

Remodel update!

A lot has happened on the home front. Since my last post they've inspected the footers, poured the foundation, surveyed the foundation, layed the block for the exterior walls of the house, inspected the walls, poured concrete down the blocks, removed the eaves of the house in order to place the trusses and moved the electrical! WHEW!! That is a LOT in 2 weeks!

For more detailed views of the progress...check out the slide show at the bottom of my page!

Of course there have been a few bumps along the way... LOL!! When they are laying block, they of course leave holes where the windows are going to be. For some strange reason the architect drew a 5 foot window in the water closet (aka toilet room in the master bedroom) and 2 - 4ft x 2 ft windows in the master bathroom shower. I know it isn't what we discussed with him, but we didn't catch it when he gave us the plans either! So needless to say we were going to be VERY exposed in all aspects of using our bathroom! Thankfully, Damon had not left for work yet and noticed the potential picturesque views. We were able to correct the problem quickly, but it required some scrambling! I'm so thankful Damon is doing this with me. He is soooooo knowledgeable about all of this and has avoided some major problems. I would be paying out the nose for some change orders without him!

Another 'error' occurred today as they were removing the eaves of the house. Somehow the eave was supporting an electrical line and when they removed it, the weight of the electrical cable pulled down the power line. It affected all the neighbors, too! NICE!! Thankfully it was midday, so hopefully most people were at work! The neighbors were up and running after about an hour, but it took them until about 7pm tonight to get us some power. They had planned to move the electrical tomorrow since I would be at work, but they decided to call everyone in today to get the work done since it was already halfway there. Luckily everyone was available or we would have spent the night in the dark!

The biggest story of the remodel (in my opinion) is thanks to my precious little Rylee!! LOL!! She was at Nanny and Papa's (who live next door) while Damon and I were at work. They decided to bring her over to check on the construction and to let her play in the sand that is EVERYWHERE!! During her play she started showing signs of needing to go potty, so what do they do...you guessed it....they let her use the Port-A-Potty! OMG!! They said that our house was locked, so they just let her use it... Did I mention that they LIVE NEXT DOOR!! So...I'm sure it goes without saying, but she didn't go #1!! I was shocked at the news and asked what they used for toilet paper... Come to find out, the Port-A-Potty was well stocked. I must say I was impressed by that...but all the same...EWWW!! Well she just thought it was the coolest thing ever! I am mortified at the thought that one of the construction workers would think it was me that used it... I mean it wasn't there when they left for the day, but it is there when they get back the next morning!!! You know...she may always match and have a bow in her hair, but a frilly girl she is NOT...she is a tomboy for sure! I guess deep down I knew she wouldn't make it through the whole remodel without fully investigating the outdoor facilities!

Baby update!

I'm 23 weeks preggo today. I had my doctor's appointment this morning and all is well. The baby's heartbeat is good and I'm 'ok' with the weight gain. It is funny how their idea with 'ok' is NOT my idea! I'm measuring right on track, too...that was good to hear because I feel like I am SOOO much bigger than I was with Rylee at this point. I've officially started looking pregnant and not just fatso...so I guess that is a good thing, right?!? Let's just say the body ain't what it used to be!

I'm starting with the Braxton-Hicks contractions...already! I probably get 3-4 a day and they aren't too bad, but it does kinda make you stop and think that labor isn't any fun! I know these are miniscule compared to real labor, but I don't want to be thinking about real labor right now! I've got a lot of time left and I don't want to be worrying about labor already!

The baby is starting to become more and more active. It feels like he is doing the backstroke in there!! LOL!! It is neat to feel right now, though! I know that soon enough it will become painful when he moves, so I'm enjoying the 'swimming'!

The name has been narrowed down to 2 possibilities, but we can't agree. I wanted one and Damon was leaning toward the other. I finally conceded to his preferred option and now he is leaning the other way. I can't tell if he is just antagonizing me or for real. I don't EVEN want to think about middle names! It has been a month since we found out it is a boy and we still haven't got the first name. We will officially announce that the last name is Watson, though! LOL! We'll reveal when we know for sure. Last time we threw out a bunch of names and people could be down right ugly with their 'opinions', so we are going to keep it quiet for the most part until we decide.

I've decided on a nursery theme! I searched for about a week for a nursery that 'spoke' to me. I don't like all the sweet little boy nurseries because I feel like they would be kind of silly for a 12 month old 'little man'. Rylee has had her nursery for almost 3 years now, so I definitely want it to be more masculine than cutesie! I also didn't want to do anything that had been done too much...I wanted to be able to be creative...or should I say I want my sister to be creative!! HA! So...after much searching we have decided to go with dinosaurs! I like the fact that he'll be able to keep the room for SEVERAL years!! Of course we have to finish the remodel so that he actually has a room, but that is another post. Rylee is wondering about the sleeping arrangements, too. She can't seem to figure out where he is going to sleep. She doesn't understand how he is going to fit in the current spare bedroom. She doesn't quite grasp how different everything is going to be in a few short months!! Say a prayer for us in that respect...she likes her routines!