Snow “Storm” + Baby Update

 

Atlanta had quite the week if I do say so myself.

If you live in a cave – Google: Atlanta snow 2014 – and you will learn about our complete and total shut down of our roads and world. Needless to say, Kyle and I are alive and safe and warm and we did not have to deal with insanely long commutes home from work. We both got to deal with fishtailing a bit and morons who thought because they drove a big truck or SUV that they were invincible. But thank freaking goodness we both just had 2 hours of driving home at very slow speeds.  I could not image just sitting in one spot/barely moving for countless hours.  so I am grateful for my amazing coworkers who basically said “get you and your bump out of here now”. obviously no one thought that we would have had the situation that we did.  it was really just unbelievable that people were in their cars for 10+ hours trying to get home and kids were stranded at schools and people had to sleep at their offices.

I worked from home both Wednesday and Thursday and let me tell you – I could never do that full time.  These dogs of mine are cute, but insanely annoying with their barking out the front window at people walking by and kids playing in the streets.

Mulligan loves the snow and I think he would just stay out there until it melts if we would let him and Kennesaw, she likes it, thinks it is neat, but she is a smart girl and would much rather be in the heated house. I am pretty sure this is her first snow experience and I am not sure she is as sold on it as her brother is.  But it has been fun and cute to watch them just chase each other and play with  each other and wrestle in the snow. 

 

…baby update…

well. I knew that some people in my life would be interested in my growing {or lack there of} belly so here you go!  A week by week shot of the infamous bump for week 15, 16, and 17. I feel like it looks like the belly is just getting taller and spreading up vs. popping out.  but oh well – I will not complain about my itty bitty bump – I know some girls would kill to be in my shoes.  And I feel like in the future I need to do a better job of getting myself together before taking photos of myself – I promise, I don’t always look like a hot mess.

But, there really is not a lot going on in the world of the baby.  I am currently 17 weeks. Which means by baby is the size of a pomegranate and about 5” long. Still no sign of movement {that I know of because evidently it isn’t kicks it is “flutters” or something} and with the exception of my tension headaches {which are stress driven} and what feels like constant bloody nose I still feel good.  I have had zero cravings, but I will never turn down some Chick-fil-a chicken nuggets.  But all is good.  Just antsy to start the nursery and all that jazz.

Last doctors appointment we got a thumbs up – everything is looking good. Steady heart rate of 143 bpm {evidently that is “girl” range}. I evidently have gained pretty much no weight {a whopping 3 pounds} but all seems to be good!  We started a 529 for the kid through USAA. it is in Kyle’s name currently but will be swapped come July. Nothing like starting the college fund investment early on.  And best part – people and can donate to it. We find out the baby’s gender on February 19th – 18 LONG, PAINFUL DAYS!  And we are SO excited to find out. We LOVE both of the baby names we have decided on and have gotten a million and one compliments on the chosen names… now I just want to know if we are having a little blue C or a little pink M. 

but all in all – everything in life is good.  we survived the snow “storm” that really wasn’t a storm, just an epic fail on Atlanta’s part in regards to taking the weather predictions seriously and the dogs are good and the bambino is good too.  we bought a jogging stroller and this a behemoth of a stroller – but we {more me than kyle} are excited about our 1st baby purchse.  kyle is currently at poker night with the boys, so I just ate a whole pizza in under 12 minutes, am signing up for birthing classes, and watching lifetime. living on the edge this saturday night. so. life is good!

Bambino Bedroom

Since the bambino news is out in the open now I can share baby room fun stuff with you!  Ever since painting the guest bedroom and having A LOT of left over gray paint – we decided to paint the nursery primarily gray.  and then accent it in some way with either a blue or a pink {depending on the gender}. And in true Barbie fashion I have had to plan everything out and look at cribs and bedding because I want the nursery done well in advance.  So…. I have been drooling over Land of Nod bedding since they somehow found out I was pregnant (creepy) and started sending me their catalog.
 

And for bedding I have decided on these two prints/patterns.  I didn’t want anything cartoony or whimsical.  I feel like some parents go overboard with “themed” nurseries.  Kyle and I like clean, simple lines and I think both of these patterns fit our personalities and they are simple and clean.
 

And then for fitted sheets we want the matching animal {bunny or whale} prints + the big spunky polka dots to contrast against the stripes.  The only difference from the pictures is that the crib skirts show pink and navy – well, they are reversible so we would show the gray and then do the sheets in pink or navy {polka dots}.
 

Best part of Land of Nod – when  you sign up for emails you get an automatic 10% off, which will be nice and we will sign up for emails using multiple email addresses to get the best deals on all the bedding.  Don’t judge me.  I like a good deal. =)
 

We have been looking at cribs too {of course} and want to do dark wood for a boy and white wood for a girl and do a convertible crib that goes from crib to toddler bed to full bed.  That way we *hopefully* won’t have to buy furniture as the kid sprouts and gets older.  Plus we need a matching dresser and glider/rocking chair thing.  So – if anyone has any recommendations, please send them my way.  We have looked at Target and Babies ‘R Us and Buy Buy Baby and Koo Koo Bear Baby but everything is just so expensive. 

Obviously we don’t want to compromise quality for price but we also don’t want to spend as much as we just did on our big kid bedroom furniture!  So seriously, we are taking recommendations.  We want to start setting up the nursery in May so it is 100% done by the middle of June and ready for July.  But the baby room furniture appears to be the one thing we cannot seem to figure out due to price... and I think Kyle and I are just going to have to take a deep breath and just swipe the credit card! Yee Haw.
 

Overall – the nursery is going to be very very simple.  We don’t want a lot on the walls.  We don’t want there to be an overall theme that just clutters the room.  We want simple and relaxing. 
 

Come 20 weeks Land of Nod will be getting some business from the Shanahan’s!  That is when we learn if this Bambino is a boy or a girl! =)

News. News. We Have News.

In October Kyle and I wanted to have a wine night.  In passing I made a minor comment that I was late.  Yes.  That kind of late.  I said it was probably because I was working out more and stressed to the max because of work.  Kyle didn’t care.  He made me pee on a stick. and. no joke. like 2 minutes later we learned that I WAS PREGNANT. We then went to Mexican to eat our feelings. And for about 1 week solid I repeated a zillion times “I cannot believe you got me pregnant”. And then there was like 4 weeks after the 1st confirmation {when I was about 6 weeks along according to 1 of the 506548 apps I downloaded} that we took another test since I was convinced I was not pregnant that we got reconfirmation.

So. With that news. Kyle and I are expecting our 1st born in July. 

We are excited.  We had to go THE WHOLE TRIP HOME for Thanksgiving without saying a word to our parents because we wanted a confirmation from the doctor before we broke the news to anyone big in our lives.  And let me tell you – hanging out with our parents with such a huge secret was HARD.  Every time we left a parents house {since we travel between 3} we would look at each other and say “1 down, 2 to go”

We were able to tell everyone over Christmas and it was just a fun and exciting time to tell people.  …but let me tell you… making phone calls to say “hey, we are having a bambino” is awkward.

Then we wanted to wait till the 2nd trimester before any formal announcement was made online or to our friends and work.  So hello! We are in the 2nd trimester. 7 more months of brewing to go!

And to answer all the questions:

1. I have been feeling GREAT. Which is why I did not believe we were pregnant.  no morning sickness. no afternoon sickness. no heightened smell.  Just some acne and exhaustion and multiple positive pregnancy tests. 
2. The first ultrasound was amazing and breathtaking and so real. God really is just so good.  It is amazing.  And. We are having a little dancing alien.  That little nugget was waving his/her arms around like a wild person!  The other ultrasounds we have had since then have been good – strong heart beat.  We had one annoying one where the bambino would not move so they sent me down to a specialist to get the tests completed – but it was nothing big, scary, or anything to worry about.
3. Yes. We were shocked – really shocked,  But now we are excited. And scared. But we think we will be good parents.  We hope we will be good parents.  I am SO excited for my family. and his family. And for my Granddad to be a GREAT-GRANDDAD and my Aunts and Uncle to be Great Aunts and Uncles {I bet they are feeling old now}.  We have already talked about how to have my Granddad and what not meet this little dancing alien – I know that would be magical and just SO heartwarming. 
4. I am still working out and will work out the whole pregnancy – I believe staying active is a good thing and should be done.  And the Blast900 staff has been fabulous.  I am SO SO SO grateful for Nicole and Paige and all their advice and watchful eyes! Plus my doctor said I shouldn’t gain more than 20-25 pounds.
5. Yes – we have thought of baby names. Initials are:   BOY: CLS    GIRL:  MMS
6. I cry at random.  I cried at Home Depot over something stupid, the poor high school boy worker was probably thinking “oh my gosh, what did I do”.  I have cried over newborn photographers.  Me = Emotional Trainwreck.
7. Speaking of newborn photographers. (1) they are SO expensive for a good one (2) FYI: you have to book like MONTHS in advance – I contacted so many that were booked for July at our 8 week mark.  Did people pee on a stick and drop $200 on a deposit before a confirmed strong heartbeat?!
8. We have already found and registered our unknown named and gender baby in daycare.  if you know anything about me, I am a planner.  I follow checklists and all my iPhone apps said January = research and book a daycare.  So. We have toured, interviewed, visited and researched countless daycares and picked one that has a curriculum {and the bambino will learn both sign language and spanish}. and has an in house chef that makes everything fresh. and good teacher to infant ratios.  And for those who are thinking about having kids.  Daycare = a 2nd mortgage!  For reals.
9. We do not care if it is a boy or a girl.  We want happy and healthy and not too spoiled.  But I cannot stop thinking of little pink things, sequins, glitter, and tutus.  Le Sigh. And then I dread paying for a wedding in like 20 some years.  Can you say inflation?!
10. The dogs are getting some extra special attention and training – and it will only increase as the month go on.  But, I believe they will be good with the baby.  And with all my “preparing the dog for baby” reading should hopefully pay off.
11. I have not really had any cravings, but this child does not really like Mexican food – which is DEVASTATING or anything spicy.  And if the urban legend is true about the heartburn = a lot of hair {again. spicy food} I will be birthing a 4 year old.
12. Yes – this child will attend The University of Alabama in 18 years. There is no other option.  Their first words better be “Roll Tide” or I am giving it back! {Kidding. Maybe.}

We are church hunting.  We want to raise our baby in a church.  Kyle has mentioned how he is envious of my upbringing – 1 house that I was raised in and come home to every time we are in VA – a neighborhood full of kids – stable activities that included church.  So, if anyone has recommendations in Alpharetta, GA – please send them my way!!

I will keep you updated – but do not plan to see too many {if any} sonogram pictures.  Newsflash ladies: ain’t no one want to see your womb other than your family members.  And bump pictures – maybe.  Who knows.  I am SO anti selfies so I do not know how I feel about baby bump pictures.  But honestly, I still am not so sure this whole pregnancy and child birth thing is natural.  Why can’t storks be real things?!  But it really is just so amazing.  God is Good.

xoxo!

:: Five Things Friday ::

I have not done one of these in what feels like FOREVER but I have 1 thing I want to share with the world and then I need to scrounge up 4 other things.  the 1 things want not enough to write a full post, but big enough to share with the world.

so… without further ado.

#1: My husband got a promotion and a killer raise this week!! YEAH!! You have no idea how excited I am for him and how proud I am of him.  He has worked his butt off and has wanted this position for over a year now. So, my husband is now an official Staff Accountant!  ….and the raise doesn’t hurt either! =)  Big smiles in the Shanahan house this week!!!

#2: We had such a slow key New Year Eve.  Watched The Great Gatsby while drinking milk and eating taquitos. Watched the Texas A&M / Duke Game {what an embarrassment for the SEC}.  Played some Candy Crush.  And barely made it till midnight to watch the ball drop.  Living on the edge kids.  Keep your jealousy in check.  I can teach you my ways later!

#3: Another Alabama football season has come to an end.  And it was a sad, embarrassing, depressing end to the season.  But… if going 11-2 is a bad season and only losing 6 games in 5 years is bad, then I don’t know up from down.  And now, Bring on September.  And for the record,  No.  No.  I will not be cheering for Auburn in the National Championship.  I don’t want to “keep it in the state” … I dislike Auburn and the “Gus Bus” and Gus’s sweater vest and his double bubble gum and the fact that he laughed {yes a coach laughed} at a hurt Alabama player during the Iron Bowl.  So.  Go ACC – Go FSU – Roll Tribe Roll!

#4: This weekend is going to be spent taking Christmas down.  We gotta get our house back to normal and the ornaments and stocking put away.  Is it just me or was the holiday season just a rush and a blur this year!? I feel like once it started it was over and that I just put our tree up.  Maybe it is because I spent all of December on the road or maybe it is because I am getting older and life just moves faster when you are older.

#5: I don’t really have any goals for 2014.  Just to make it to 2015 in one piece.  I would like to read more.  and work out more.  and be less stressed. get the house a little more finished.  grow in my career.  keep my marriage strong.  find a church.  go on more dog walks. spend weekends doing things. guess I have some goals but nothing definitive. hello 2014!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!! I HOPE YOU ALL HAD A FABULOUS HOLIDAY SEASON AND YOUR 2014 IS AMAZING!! =)

guest bedroom // reveal

warning: this is a really boring post.  BUT. Our guest bedroom is like 80% done.  And this is really exciting news on the Shanahan front because that means we will never have to worry about this room again and our house is one room closer to be finished, furnished, and a big kid house.  I know. I know. but for us it really is the little things in life.  We have this huge house made for adults with all these empty rooms and I know this is a room that is very rarely used – but to have it {almost} fully decorated is a win in my book.  The blue and gray walls look really good with the gray curtains and gray bedspread.  All the steel accents {top of bed. lamps. curtain rod} all just really tie together.  The candle holders are in route to Alpharetta from Pottery Barn.  But… on the need to buy list:  a large, horizontal mirror to hang over the dresser and then some sort of “art” for over the bed – but I have a vision of what I want, but cannot seem to find it.  I want  something round and simple over the bed, but not a round decorative mirror because there will be a mirror over the dresser.  But – there is really no rush on either item since the room is rarely used and just having real life, big kid, not embarrassing furniture in that room is a total win.  And now we are in debt to Havertys since we got new furniture for our bedroom.

Next rooms to decorate: living room needs new furniture. Luckily, the living room is decorated and we really like it. And the couch in our living room will be moved to Kyle’s man cave – then need to decorate the man cave.  The love seat in our living room will be moved to our awkward weird sitting room off the foyer with the coffee table and end table.  We also need to get a table for our formal dining room.  Then the other 2 rooms upstairs will be decorated as bambinos are added to the family.  Plus we want to replace all 5 out of the 6 ceiling fans upstairs.  And add granite to the kitchen. And evidently spend all our money on this house.

Seriously.  Home buying and decorating and making it our own is expensive.  We will always accept Havertys and Home  Depot gift cards for holidays and birthdays.

But… in other news.  Look at this ham that is our dog Kennesaw.  We got a new bed {upgraded to a King from a Queen} and after a little bit of uncertainty, Kennesaw embraced the new bed and decided it is really comfortable and had made herself at home.  At the top of the bed. On my pillows.  And I am pretty sure she only left the bed on Saturday to go to the bathroom, drink water, go on a walk, go outside, and have dinner.  This bed is WAY taller than our old bed and Mulligan {thinking he was small} didn’t know if he could jump up.  Needless to say.  He can.  And now we have two dogs who love our bed and my nap on  Sunday was surrounded by puppies.  I am glad those kids of ours love their new bed.  Because of course, it was bought especially for them.  But seriously, how cute is Kennesaw snoozing in luxury.  and, for the record – there is so much room that it feels like kyle and I are sleeping on different continents and there is plenty of room for 2 dogs in bed, but kennesaw does move to the floor for her egg shell bed. Spoiled.

well. I am out.  I am in Asheboro, NC for work – headed back to Atlanta tomorrow – and need my sleep.  I have been exhausted lately.  just exhausted.

Oh December.

Can you believe that the year is almost over?!  I decided to do a little update on the old blog since I am sitting here watching the SEC Championship {rooting for a Mizzou victory – even though it seems like it will be another win by the barn school down to road from Tuscaloosa} and Kyle J is painting our guest room in preparation for our current bedroom furniture to move into the guest room. Oh the life of a domestic couple living in the burbs.  Picking out paint colors.  House projects pretty much every weekend.  And lots of time spent at the local Home Depot.

I am actually really excited about decorating the guest room – I have lots of ideas.  the room got painted with one gray accent wall and then 4 light blue walls … and well, the walls are a little too blue for my vision – they remind me of a baby’s room blue – but we will make it work.  We have gray curtains to hang and then a charcoal gray comforter for the bed.  My Dad will be VERY happy to know that he will have bedside tables, with lamps, so he can finally put his belongings places. I am trying to decide if I want to put mirrors behind the lamps {like something amazing I saw on Pinterest} or just decorate above the headboard.  Then we have other walls to decorate and what not – so I am hoping the blue will just fade in the background.  You know?

I decorated our Christmas Tree today while Kyle painted.  Pause.  I went to Home Depot to rent a truck to bring Kyle’s Christmas present home …. and they were out of trucks {say what} … so I drove up the road to Lowe’s and got one of their trucks, took it back to Home Depot, and then got Kyle’s grill home.  Needless to say – that was terrifying.  I was driving a BIG Ford F250 around Alpharetta and could not figure out how to “open” the side mirrors on one side.  For real – dangerous and I now believe the average Joe does NOT need a truck that big.  I basically needed a ladder to get in it and then would roll myself out of it.  And, I drove like 15 miles per hour home with a larger than life grill tied to the back.  DANGEROUS.

Back to the tree – I decorated for Christmas even through we will not be in Georgia Christmas – but we still need the holiday spirit in Alpharetta.  Our mantel is REALLY bare and even Kyle thinks it is bare.  So I will be adding Home Goods and Target to my list of errands tomorrow to get more mantle decorations.  But I think our tree is really pretty and that next year we will need to buy one that is a little bit bigger – only because we have a higher ceiling and more room in the corner where we are going to put the tree each year.  Plus – ours is a cheap Walmart tree from like 5 years ago and there are too many big unnatural holes – so I think we will splurge next year and get a new tree that is higher quality.  Oh homeownership – a never ending battle of saving and spending money. …..but at the end of the day, it is all worth it.

I am travelling again for work.  Spent most of last week in the great state of Alabama between both McCalla and Montgomery.  Best part: I got to have dinner with my bestie Heather.  I always love seeing her any chance I get.  This week I am off to Augusta.  Then next week I am off to Asheboro, NC.  Then home to Northern VA for Christmas with Kyle’s family. 

But. I will post pictures of the guest room as the furniture gets moved in and as it is fully decorated…. or I will show the work in progress!!!

 

 

and in other news….

I feel like I did a good job of covering the life events that kept us on our toes {and the road} this fall.  but then there are the other things that are new and exciting in our world.

1. Kyle J is turning into a runner!! And he will probably kill me if he knows that I put this picture on the blog, but I cannot tell you how proud I am of him.  He gets up pretty much every morning before work and runs 3 miles throughout the neighborhood.  When we were in Sanibel, he got up 2 mornings and ran alone.  he is really becoming my little runner and has even asked when our first 5k will be as a couple.  So…. I am scouting.  But as prep for the upcoming race … One recent Saturday I finally got his running butt into Big Peach Running Company to get professionally fit for running shoes.  he had been mentioning running pains and needing new shoes and I somehow talked him into getting the fit test.  And…. he actually liked it and admitted that I was right and that he should have gone sooner. {mind you – he wanted to go to DSW and get a regular pair shoes because he didn’t want to shell out serious money.  I lured him in with a coupon I thing.}  ….if you’re in Atlanta and need a good pair of running shoes – the fit test at Big Peach is well worth the time.

2. We got up one Sunday morning and went to hike the waterfall at apalachicola state park.  And let me tell you, despite the gorgeous weather in the fall – it was hard and rough.  When Kyle asked me if I wanted to go on a hike followed by brunch I didn’t know that I would be HIKING.  My fitbit almost exploded – 1 day, 1 hike = 100 flights of stairs.  Kids.  That hike was legit – we pretty much climbed up a mountain and that is no exaggeration.

3. We had our 1st Halloween in the house and it was not a total let down, but a let down.  I would have thought we would have had zillion of kids, but not really.  Well – we know for next year that we do not need 12 bags of candy.  I am in the process of giving my office a major sugar high.

4.  The dogs are cute and they are good.  you know. just being dogs.  Kennesaw has turned Mulligan’s old bandana into her baby blanket and she takes it everywhere with her and loves on it.  it is a bandana that was around mulligan’s neck.  She is a goofball.

5.  Work is going good for Kyle and me.  Not too much on that home front. For once, I do not feel so overwhelmed that I cannot breathe or move.  being able to get out of the office and hit blast900 has been amazing.

I think that is about it, to be honest – I feel like life is just moving so fast.  can you believe the holidays are around the corner?! I am so so so behind on the holiday shopping.  I gotta get on it – especially for those people who we need to have their gifts home by Thanksgiving!!!