It's a Boy!!!

I went to the doctor this morning at 8:30am for our gender reveal ultrasound.  You can find out at 20 weeks, or you can pay $75 to find out at 16 weeks.  It was money well spent.  The girl that did the ultrasound was actually a sorority sister from college.  She sealed our results in an envelope and we went off to work.  Thankfully Mondays are very busy for me.  It was a long day, but still went by pretty fast. 

We decided against a gender reveal party for several reasons.  First, I've learned to 'just say no' to stress.  The coordinating dates with family, the planning, the organizing....I just decided to opt out. I had just planned a few different get togethers with family to announce that we were having a baby and didn't really want to do it all again so soon.  Second, I learned during the announcing of the baby, that the crowds and attention on Miles was not fun for him. We really wanted him to enjoy this moment.  I also worried about his disappointment if it was a girl and wanted to make sure he could express whatever he needed to.  And last but not least, we did not want to wait a second longer than we had to before finding out.  Having a party probably would have meant that we would have to wait until the weekend.

Our friends, Rachel & Travis, offered to repay the favor and fill the pinata for us, take pictures, and video.  Miles has always wanted to bust open a pinata, so it sounded like a perfect plan.  I was so anxious in this picture.  It was such a crazy feeling to know we were about to find out.

It took about 5-6 swings and blue came pouring out!

I died.  It was such a surprise and then knowing how much it meant to Miles was an unbelievable feeling.

I really tried to refrain from saying I wanted one or the other because it absolutely did not matter. I knew God would give us what was best for our family, but I really wanted a boy.  A house full of blue felt good in my heart.

  

My mom asked what Miles' reaction was like.  I know he was happy, but I honestly think that he's known it was a boy all along so I'm not sure he was that surprised. He couldn't get enough of the pinata though....even long after we knew.

What a great day! Let the shopping, nursery decorating, and name selecting commence!

First Baseball Practice

Tonight was Miles' first ever baseball practice. A couple weeks ago, Miles asked me if you threw the ball at someone to try to get them out in baseball.  I immediately relayed the message to Darrin that he needed to start working with him on baseball fundamentals.  AKA: put the football down for a few weeks and pick up the bat & glove.

I thought he did a very good job.  He was the only kid that practiced his sliding skills as they were working on base running.  Unfortunately, it was first base that he slid into :) I'm pretty sure we landed the best 6 year old baseball coach in Medina. He worked diligently with them on fundamentals while the fidgeted, talked, and squirmed around with their friends. 

It was F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G.  I may need to rethink my dislike of basketball if it means we get to sit in a warm gym.  My toes are still thawing out as we speak.

It was also PJ day at school. 

He was very excited to show off his Pokemon PJs from Aunt Crystal & Uncle Steve.

Off to drink some hot chocolate and warm up!  Happy Friday!

Laundry Room Before & After

I realized the other day that I haven't done many before & after posts about our house. Last weekend I decided to add a few finishing touches to our laundry room.  Kind of a weird place to focus my efforts when there are other rooms in the house that are in need of some decorating, but ideas just came to me and I knew it would be an inexpensive room to complete. 

When we bought the house, the laundry room was in a hallway that lead to a spare room that the former owners used for a hunting room.  The man was a big hunter, so he stored all his gear and large gun safe in there.  There is a second door that leads to the back of the garage, so it's perfect for a mud room.  Here you can see the hallway laundry room with the spare room at the end.  They had a really nice washer & dryer, so the space actually looked really nice.  I love the recessed lighting that they had already installed. 

A close up of the spare mud room...

We ended up moving the laundry into the mud room during all of our of renovations.  The upper cabinets were relocated and the walls were painted a light blue.  We also extended the new tile from the kitchen into this room. 

Last weekend, I added a rug, some pictures, and a few hooks for less than $100.  I was going to add a curtain of some kind, but I decided I like the clean look without one.  Our coat closet is at the front of the house, which is very inconvenient.  A couple hooks will allow us to each hang a few coats that we wear most often.

The rug and this picture frame came from Target.  I found this free printable on Pinterest.

I had one of my all time favorite pictures of Miles printed on a 12"x12" wood panel from Walmart. I could have gotten something I liked a little more, but for the money it was perfect for the laundry room.  I wanted something different than a canvas.  It's not bad, but in person it's a little glossy for my taste.

This is a shelving system that the previous owners already had in this room.  It works perfectly for our needs.  

It is the perfect laundry room for us.  Not too big, not too small.  The door on the right is the door that leads to the garage.  I don't use it much but it's great for Darrin to come in that door at the end of the day and drop off his dirty gym clothes.  I also love that it has a door to the hallway that be shut when the dryer is too loud or their are piles of laundry on the floor.

In other random news, Miles got his first phone call from a friend this week.  Gaige called to check on him while he was sick. 6 year olds are extremely awkward on the phone, but it was cute nonetheless.

He was able to go back to school yesterday. I expected him to be very tired last night, but he wasn't.  I guess it caught up with him today. He crawled up on the couch at 7:45pm tonight and fell sound asleep.  Darrin had to carry him to bed when he got home from work.

Miles has his first baseball practice tomorrow night and we find out the gender of the baby on Monday, so I should be back soon.  Good night, all!

The Circus & the Never Ending Virus

Last Tuesday, Miles & I were invited to go to the circus with some friends from his class. I declined b/c I was going to be out of town for work. They asked if Miles could go with them, so we made plans for him to go home from school with his friend, Gaige, and to the circus that night. Truth be told, I think Miles was more excited about being a car rider with Gaige. He was going around the house saying both of their full names as if they were calling them for car rider line. Super cute.

Gaige's mom, Leslie, sent me a few pics during the night. I sent money with Leslie and told her that he could buy junk food and an overpriced circus toy.

He ended up with popcorn, cotton candy, a snow cone, and a light up sword. Perfection in his world.

On the way home, Leslie text Darrin to say that she thought Miles had pink eye. They noticed it at the very end of the night and she said he was complaining about it.

Darrin took him to a walk in clinic the next day and got some drops for pink eye.

Then, a fever hit on Thursday. When Miles runs a fever it's typically always low grade and nagging.  During this little bout, his fevers have been between 102-103+. That is very high for him. He has been so pitiful.

On Friday, I took him to our eye doctor b/c the antibiotics drops that the walk in clinic gave us were not helping at all.

Our eye doctor confirmed pink eye and gave him some steroid drops instead. He said that it's viral, so the antibiotic drops weren't doing anything anyway.

On Saturday, after sleeping 11 hours, he woke up like a new kid! As soon as his eyes opened, he said, "I feel so good!" He said it at least five times. He was so happy to feel better.

He was literally bouncing off the walls.  He played outside all day and enjoyed the beautiful weather. 

His Granny & Pa came to see him and brought him a huge balloon.  He loves it and has commented so many times what a great present it was.

Unfortunately, feeling good was short lived.  He started running a fever late yesterday afternoon.  In the night, it was 102.3 and he was complaining about his throat.  I decided to take him to the walk in clinic again since they were the only ones open on a Sunday.  This is how pitiful he was while I was getting ready.
 

The clinic did a flu and strep test, which were both negative.  So, we are left to wait out this never ending virus. He was so good for both of the tests. A sign that he's growing up. We sure have experienced our share of drama at the doctor's office. As we were leaving, the nurse offered him a lollipop and he said, "No thank you."  A true measure of how terrible he was feeling.

I just put him to bed with a 102.9 fever. We never do this for sickness, but he's sleeping with me tonight.  Darrin has been kicked out.  I don't usually freak about sickness and instead just enjoy a slower pace and some snuggles, but this has gone on for long enough and I don't like this one bit.  I have to go out of town tomorrow through Wednesday night.  Thankfully Darrin's parents are coming down tomorrow morning to stay with Miles so Darrin can go to work. We both already missed several days last week.  Praying this stubborn virus goes away soon.

Our Valentine's Day

Darrin has been out of town, but he wrote a nice Valentine message for us before he left.  He's usually gone on Valentine's Day b/c it's a big recruiting weekend.

I told Miles before we went to sleep last night that we had a present for him in the morning. As soon as his eyes opened he said, "can I open my present?"

He got some gummy Lifesavers (our favorite) and a new CD/radio for his room so he can jam out to his Kids Bop CD :)  I thought he was a little indifferent about it until he said it was the best gift ever, except his 4wheeler, and that we always buy the best gifts.  Be still my heart.

After present opening, we went to church to hang out with all of our new friends at EBC North.  It's our sixth week since starting our campus in the local middle school.  What a blessing it has been week after week.

Between attending & working church services in the morning and hosting a small group at night, we don't have much time on Sundays anymore. We did manage some TV, nap, laundry, and errands.  To end our Valentine's Day, we enjoyed some chocolate covered strawberries. I will never win a food photo contest, but I must share this somewhat healthy substitute.

Chocolate Cashew Butter

1 cup unsalted cashews (I usually find them in the produce section)

2/3 cup honey

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 tsp vanilla

Soak cashews in water for 4-6 hours. Drain cashews. Blend in food processor with other ingredients for up to 5 minutes, until smooth. Continually scrap down the sides.  Serve with fresh fruit. 

It's best right after you make it b/c it's warm and spreads easily.  I don't refrigerate the left overs and simply warm them in the microwave a few seconds to soften. So good! Happy Valentine's Day!

The Scoop

More details as promised.  We have tried off and on over the last 4.5 years to have another baby. We would try for a while and then decide that we were content with our family of three and I would get back on the pill.  Then, we would decide that maybe we should give it another try and the cycle would continue. I would say we have probably tried 2.5 out of the last 4.5 years.  It took us a year and a half to get pregnant with Miles, so it was no surprise that this didn't happen easily. 

Thankfully, the second time we were both very content with our family of three, so it never got frustrating for either of us.  Miles, on the other hand, was not okay with his only child status.  Last fall, we decided to give it one last try before calling it quits for good.  I went to the doctor in October to discuss options and feasibility. He ran blood work which determined that it would be very difficult for me to get pregnant without some help. He referred me to a fertility specialist for a second opinion.  We had already decided that we weren't interested in going to any lengths, especially since we have a perfectly healthy little boy. I definitely did not want to risk multiples. I know myself, and I'm not cut out for that, especially with a husband that travels a lot.  My appointment with the fertility specialist was scheduled for Jan. 5 and I found out I was pregnant on Dec. 18. This is EXACTLY what happened with Miles.  Both times I had to call and cancel my appointment with the fertility doctor.

I have taken so many negative pregnancy tests over the years that I never dreamed the test would be positive on Dec. 18.  I bought a test and took it without Darrin knowing. No need to get his hopes up.  I was actually talking on the phone with a friend from work when I went back to check the test. I could not believe my eyes. It caught me so off guard. We were about to walk about the door to go to a birthday party for one of Miles' friends in Martin. I was so shocked that I didn't even tell Darrin.  I hung up with my friend and told Darrin & Miles to go ahead and get in the car and that I would be right there.  I wanted to check my due date because I knew it would be very close to Miles' birthday. When I typed in my info, Miles' birthday popped up as my due date. All I could do was shake my head at the irony.

We went on to the birthday party where I hung out with several of my best friends.  Knowing that I was the only one that knew my secret at that point was such a weird feeling. I bet I even acted weird. We came home, put Miles to bed, I got in bed, and Darrin stayed up to watch TV in the living room.  I decided to send him a text to tell him the news. I just thought that it would be fun to shock him.  My plan failed b/c his phone was on the charger and he didn't see it. Then, he came to bed and left his phone in the kitchen. So, I told him that I sent him something.  So, he went back to get his phone but it turns out that my phone never sent the text b/c we have service issues in our house. I sent it again and he finally got my text while we were both laying in bed in the pitch dark. It was a fun moment despite the interruption issues. 

I have wondered a lot about the reason for the 7 year gap, b/c that is obviously not how we would have planned it. I don't question God's timing b/c I do understand that it's perfect. I know that He knows what is best for our family.  I still wonder why. Sometimes I think it might be my health. I have made so much progress with my Lyme disease over the last 7 years. Maybe my body wasn't ready before now. I can't help but reflect on how settled we feel in our new house, with Darrin's job, and with my new position. We are in such a better place than we were 1-2 years ago. Maybe Miles is at just the right age to understand that his prayers have been answered. He has prayed diligently for this baby over the last year. He would randomly walk out of his room and say, "Just prayed for a baby."  Every time he asked for a baby brother, we would say, "Pray about it" or "Talk to God".  What a spiritual lesson this could be a for a lifetime.  Whatever the reason, I'm fine with it.

We told Miles last Wednesday and broke the news to our family over the weekend. When we told Miles, he jumped up and down for a least five minutes and said that it was "the best day of his life". 

 

He got to choose where we celebrated and he chose Taco Bell for dinner and Sonic for ice cream. That's how we roll in our house.

I am 12 weeks. At times it was a hard secret to keep, but I'm so glad we waited to tell. We wanted to be sure everything was okay before we told Miles. Also, with Miles, we told really early and I felt like I was pregnant for a year. It feels so good to have the first trimester out of the way already. Time has flown by.  Our friends and family have been shocked, which was SOOOOOOO much fun and well worth the wait.  Most of them had no clue that we were even considering having another baby. 

The best news is that I feel great!  I dreaded pregnancy b/c I remember how terrible I felt with Miles...the heartburn, the nausea, the unbelievable fatigue....  This pregnancy is completely different so far. I can't even tell I'm pregnant. Due to some health concerns, I've already had three ultrasounds. If I hadn't seen for myself three times, I may not believe it. I am so thankful and hopeful it will continue. I've only had few cravings so far, grapes, Chickfila nuggets, and Cran-Apple juice. My one aversion is Mt. Dew. Go figure! The thought of Mt. Dew almost gives me heartburn.  I've been able to give up all caffeine & I'm just hoping I can continue this long after the baby arrives. 

So, that's the very long version of how we got here. I really want to document my pregnancy and the baby's first years the way I did for Miles, so fingers crossed, I'll be back here more often. With Miles getting older it was becoming more difficult to blog without invading his privacy. After all, he will read this one day.  I've read that from other bloggers and never understood it until recently with Miles. If he or she is anything like Miles, little baby McClure will give me lots to write about. 

We Have Some News

More details coming soon.  Just wanted to share our exciting news!!