Things Are a Changing

This year has been full of changes. We remodeled our home, replaced/added a ton of landscaping and then in early August I found out we were expecting a baby.

We've had several miscarriages as mentioned in previous posts and so when the test said pregnant, we were scared out of our minds and overly elated. It was one of the strangest combinations of emotions I've ever experienced. We found out on a Sunday morning, so I took another test Monday and it came back with the same result, so I started by calling my insurance to find out how much this was going to cost and then it was time to find a hospital/OB since I hadn't found one here yet. I decided to go to a hospital that is top ranked in the state and deals with complex situations.

I called the office explained my history of low progesterone and she said, honey we need to see you tomorrow. At that point, I knew I was going to like this practice. I started going when I was 4 weeks along and had to go every other day for a blood draw/visit with the PA to get the results of the previous 2 days. At first, my progesterone was ok and the HCG was doubling every couple of days and they loved my progress. I also got an ultrasound every week to check the progress. The first week all we could see was a thickened uterine wall. Week 5 we saw the gestational sac. Week 6 we could see as wiggly baby and the heart flickering. The HB was 167, which is perfect. Week 7 baby looked bigger, but still like an alien and HB was 165. Week 9 HB was 162 and was moving all over the place. Week 12 I had a ton of blood tests including one to screen for chromosomal abnormalities and will tell us the gender. I was also cleared to fly. I got a call from the Dr. And they didn't get a big enough sample of the baby DNA to perform the test, so this past Monday I had to go in for another blood draw.
My Dr. is awesome. Since she knows my history, I get an ultrasound at every appointment. Monday was such a sweet experience. We interrupted the baby as He/She is sleeping on their belly. To the left.       
is their head and you can see their spine on top. The little legs and Hands are all tucked up  underneath. After the ultrasound tech was working to get the heartbeat and we heard it twice, the baby was annoyed, moved it's arms and legs vigorously and turned to its side, so all we could see was the backbone. We didn't get any facial shots today. This baby definitely likes to be left alone when sleeping and is undeniably Ben and my child :-) Here's the ultrasound.

I just feel so blessed for our tiny little miracle. I didn't think we would have this opportunity in this life. I'm so thankful for all of the prayers and support we have had over the years. I know it's no coincidence that we are due on Easter. 

E  I

House Update

Over the past month it's been quite exciting times at the Allen household for the exterior of our property. We got a new roof and new siding, compliments of the hail storm back in April. The gutters and downspouts will be replaced on Monday and our landscaping is getting a major facelift. I have learned more tree and plant names than I ever wanted and how to figure out how to space them right in the yard. I am thankful that we have a professional landscaper to help with the massive trees we are replacing. Today was day 1 of the landscape project. We had 3 trees and 13 bushes removed and sent to the wood chipper. Due to the extreme cold here, we lost an entire hedge of mature boxwoods. In the back we had two prune trees that contracted black knot disease. If you want to see what is looks like click this link:  http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/pp/notes/oldnotes/fd4.htm It made me really sad that my attempts to save them failed.

My yard is my baby. I'm out there every day doing something weather it be weeding, watering or just talking to the plants. Yes, I'm one of the crazies that talks to all of her plants and trees. They seem to respond well to positive reinforcement.

Here's some videos of the trees coming down. Day 2 will commence on Monday and I will take some pictures of the finished product.

Dr. OZ 48 hour body cleanse

This past weekend I got back on the eating right and exercising band wagon. It is so hard to do, but I need to get all this excess weight off and feel better about myself. I quit fast food cold turkey and for the next two days, I'm following Dr. OZ's 48 hour  whole body detox. Yesterday, I headed to the store and bought a lot of healthy ingredients required for it.  Today for breakfast I ate Quinoa with rice milk, prunes and flaxseed. Now, I'm enjoying a smoothie with blueberries, almond milk, banana and flaxseed. Tonight's dinner is homemade vegetable soup with a side of sauerkraut and apples. The other good part is that there is a detox drink snack and a whole list of vegetables you can eat all day.

The reason I chose to do this one is because you get to eat and it just made sense for what I was looking to do.

If anyone's interested here's the link toe cleanse. http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/48-hour-weekend-cleanse

I will let you know how the entire  cleanse works out on Thursday.

Here's to happy healthy living.

House Remodel Part 3

I forgot that I had photographed the 2 guest bedrooms and the guest bath, so here's another post today.

Guest Bed1 Before

Guest Bed1 After

We have not found a comforter for this room, so the bed looks lame

Guest bed 2 Before

This room was a cute little boys room before. It had clouds on the ceiling along with glow in the dark stars. Our painter had a lot of fun sanding and scraping the walls. 

Guest Bed 2 After

Guest bath Before
It was cute for a kids bath with painted animals on all of the walls and ceilings.

Guest bath After

Home Remodel Part 2

This post will feature pictures of the entryway, family room, kitchen and nook areas. I still need to photograph my office, our master bedroom, closet and bath, den and laundry room. 6 weeks of remodel and 2 months of putting the house together was a lot of work. There are still a few more projects that we will be doing down the road. It's that time of year where we need to refocus on the outside that needs some TLC in the landscaping and curb appeal area.

I don't know if anyone noticed in previous pictures, but our entire house was covered in brass. It was great in the 90s, but not for now. There is only one thing that is still brass in this house and that's the fireplace insert that will be replaced in the near future.We replaced everything with oil rubbed bronze door nobs/hinges throughout and made all of the bathroom faucets, towel bars, and paper towel holders chrome.

Entryway before

Entryway after

Family Room Before

Family Room After

Kitchen Before

The thing I hated most about the kitchen before was the florescent light that was over the kitchen island. It was the only light in there and it was dark. We added 6 can lights removed the florescent and put in 3 pendants. We also replaced the kitchen nook chandelier. We still have a few other projects down the road. Granite countertops, backsplash and making the upper cabinets taller. We're still debating what to do on that front.

Kitchen After

Home Remodel

So I gave a sneak peak on Instagram the other day of some of our remodel projects. I thought I would put some bigger pictures in a blog post and explain what we did in each room. This will be in multiple posts as I need to take more pictures of the finished look. (I've been a slacker)

Before (Living Room)
Walls were pale Yellow
Windows had sheer cream curtains
Small Baseboards
Old Carpet

Living Room (After)

Walls Dark Grey/Green

New window blinds

Added 6 1/2" baseboards and crown molding

New carpet with paterns

Dining Room (Before)

Dated Chandelier

Red and Beige Walls

Wood floors were brown/red

Dining Room (After)

Replaced Chandelier with modern light fixture

Painted the walls a deep blue

Add 6 1/2" baseboards and crown molding

Add Wainscoting

Blinds and new curtains

Refinish the wood floors with a non-red tone and no gloss finish

Add vinyl artwork trees