FAST update...

I debated as to what I should call this post...let's be real, it's been over a year since I have blogged! I've thought about getting back on the blogging ban wagon for quite some time but...well it just never happened! Here is our life in the last year in a nutshell!
-We finished our home addition...and we LOVE all the new space!
-We got pregnant with TWIN girls! (Huge surprise...twins do NOT run in our family...)
-We (but mostly I) delivered the twins WAY too early due to a diagnosis of HELLP...a very rare condition of preeclapsia (don't google it, it's scary!)...which is deadly to mommy and babies without immediate delivery. So our beauties were born at 27 weeks 3 days weighing 2 lbs 3 oz and 1 lb 13 oz...
-We spent 105 days in the NICU at UW (We're officially Husky fans now and there's no going back!)
-We brought Tatum Grace & Teagan Rhysse home on July 22, 2014

-And now...we are in survival mode!
The girls are doing great and LOVE being home. We are getting used to not just having a new baby but having TWO new babies! They are growing well and gaining weight like little champs. Tatum is up to 10 lbs 13.9 oz and Teagan is up to 10 lbs 3.4 oz! They are both still on feeding tubes (called a nasal gavage or NG)...these are temporary until they have developed a mature swallow. It is not uncommon for preemies to struggle with feeding, and it varies from baby to baby as to how long this can take. Ben and I have witnessed so many of God's miracles through our girls in the last four months...we are simply waiting for His next one, when our little ladies will be tube free! We go down to Children's next week for a follow up swallow study for Tatum and an initial swallow study for Teagan. We will hopefully get some good news on how Tatum has progressed and find no major issues with Teagan! PRAYING!!!
We've been home for 3 weeks now and are starting to find our new routines. The days go well...Ben is amazing! My mom is SUPER GRANDMA! We are still working on sleeping at night...Tatum and Teagan both like to "hang out & cuddle" (as the night NICU Nurses called it) from about 8:00 pm to 1:30 am...I know we will get there...we are doing some modified Baby Wise...some things just don't make sense for our preemie girls yet.
I'll be going back to work next week and Ben will start football...so who knows how long I'll be back on the blogging ban wagon! I promise to do my best!

Addition Post #9

Things are starting to happen around here....again! We had been at a bit of a stand still the last 4-7 weeks due to our struggle to match our hardwood floor and an injured contractor :( !!! When we did finally match it, we had to let it "warm up" for about a week...now we have someone to lay it and are in that process. This means our bedroom had to be emptied...which means its in our living room. Fun right? Uhhh NO! We have been "camping" in our living room for about a week now. The floor is down (finished as of 10:30 pm last night) and we are cleaning the rooms like crazy to get the big items in the room. I need my living room back! Not only has our bed been in the living room but our closet had to be emptied out also, so our couches have been holding our clothes (which some might say we have a lot of). Hopefully by the end of the week we will have all the flooring laid downstairs, plumbing finished, cabinets in and trim done...fingers crossed!!! :)

For some reason my new phone is not putting my pictures onto Google + so I have zero pictures...sorry friends. I will do my best to figure it out by the time my house is beautiful...I am looking forward to that day!

Addition Post #8

I am still deciding...but I think this is going to be the last "progress" picture of the addition until it is all finished! I really want it to be done before people see the "fun stuff." But I promise I will continue to give updates on how it is coming. This  picture is a quick one of the down stairs, standing in the kitchen/living room area looking through the current bedroom, into the new master bedroom, and then into the new master bathroom. LONG! I LOVE it. Wait until you see the paint...I don' mean to tease but, it looks goooooooood. It is all painted, and will soon be getting trim, cabinets, lighting and decore!!!!! (my favorite parts)

 

 

Our house is going to be beauitful....can't hardly wait for it to be complete, but we are feeling very thankful for all the hard work that has gone into it, and thankful everyone has stayed safe in the process!

Shopping with Landen

A few weekends ago my sister and brother-in-law were gone for the weekend so my parents had Landen and Kyla. My mom and I decided to run into Bellingham for some MINOR shopping, so we took Landen with us. We bravely left Kyla home with Uncle Ben! (I know...shocking he agreed! He learned a lot, did very well, nor was there a single tear...from either of them! hehe) Landen did so well with my mom and I shopping he got to pick a treat...guess what he wanted? New swim trunks and flip flops!!! I could hardly believe this kid didn't want a toy or something...since we found that treat on sale (it's February after all) he also got to go to the candy shop to pick another little treat.

Here he is trying to pick out just the right flavor of jelly beans....there were soooo many to choose from! We did a little mixing and matching...

He finally settled on: Ice Cream Shop, Orange Cream; Tropical Fruit and Banana

 

He decided he had to have this "gummy snake"....it was pretty much a giant gummy worm...super thick, shockingly heavy and I didn't try it, but it had to be gross! He loved it! I informed him quickly he could eat the head for now and would have to pace himself all week with the rest of it! No tummy aches on my watch!

A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words

I decided this post doesn't require anything more than a picture!

House Guest...

A few weeks ago we had the cutest house guest! My mom watches Jeriah on Tuesdays while his mommy and daddy are at work...and one gloomy Tuesday his mommy came home sick after his daddy was sick the day before. With both mommy and daddy under the weather Jeriah got to stay with Grandma Karen over night! He came over to hang out and show us all his new tricks!

This little boy is the smiliest guy I know...with the cutest little dimples!

I think this picture was from the weekend before when he had another sleep over so mommy and daddy could go on a date! This was the beautifully warm SUNNY Saturday we had a while back. We worked outside and cleaned up our "construction site" while this sweet little guy hung-out in the jogger...he is such a good baby!!!

This picture makes me laugh...because the dogs love the side lights too...and while they stand up on the window and bark...Jeriah likes to stand up on them and scream! Sooo funny!

He also has this "fun" little trick where he blows raspberries...I don't know why its so funny...but its hilarious...I heard mommy and daddy discourage this, which I HONESTLY didn't know at the time...but it is so cute!

 

Addition Post #7

This post really doesn't show any progress on the addition, but it does show how it is  beginning to impact our living area! I am glad this is going to be short term because I don't know how long I would be able to handle this kind of living. We are in the taping, mudding and sanding stages...exciting yes, but this also means dust...lots and lots of dust. We do have everything taped off with plastic, but when I got home from work, this is what I found...

Blinds down...and laid on the trunk, curtains down...still on the rod but laying on the couch.

I don't remember if I had posted a picture of the hole that was in our living room. Not a huge hole, but it is now mudded up...ready to be sanded (yep more dust :) ) and then textured and painted.

This was a spot we had fixed up...it is right by the vaulted ceiling so we got a nasty little crack where it had been taped during the original build...now it will be beautiful again!

 

Progress is being made...we feel like we are living in some hot summer days! It is very important for the house to stay warm so that they mud dries!! We have 5 heaters going in the addition and it is HOT...which means the rest of the house stays pretty toasty too! It could definitely be worse...but we are excited to be through this phase of the build.

Addition Post #6

Things are moving along over here with the addition...I went to Home Depot and Lowes this weekend and got all our tile, light fixtures, mirrors etc. I'm holding off on posting any pictures of those things until they are finished...there has to be a little bit of surprise! However, we have walls...real walls!!! This is a picture of the extended "game room" upstairs...

 

 On the left of the picture above you can see the wall diagonal...this is where the house used to end...the door on the left is going to be the new bathroom and the door in the center-ish is the new guest bedroom!

This picture was taken inside the new guest bedroom...looking at the closet...it gives a little perspective with the ladder in both pictures.

This is another picture upstairs...again the ladder in the picture shows some perspective, that little door on the right is going to be a closet for storage. Yippee for storage!!!

And this is our master bedroom, well...part of it. On the right is a door to the back deck, the left door is to our bathroom and center is the fireplace...expect there is a tone of stuff in front of it so you can't see it at all...but again, something has to be a surprise!!!

Addition Post #5

I decided to take this picture before work the other day because I realized that we hadn't taken any "before" pictures of the inside of our house prior to the build...kind of a bummer...but at least this is one of our bedroom...

 

It definately doesn't look like this anymore!!! This was the day all the tear down happend, and sheetrock went up...now it's all taped off with plastic while the mudding and sanding occurs...which is a bit of a process...so we will be living in the crazy for a few days/weeks!

I Heart NY...

While it has always been MY dream to go to New York City...my precious husband received this text on Wednesday afternoon...

 

You might remember that last January Ben got to go to Nashville, TN for a coaching conference...well, this year HE gets to go to NEW YORK! While I am filled with jealousy I couldn't say no...so over a text I said "sure...I guess" and this is what I found later that night when I got home...

 

I considered momentarily about going with him...since it is falling right over mid-winter break and tickets were shockingly reasonable, but then realized...I LOVE NY but I don't wanna go with a bunch of football nuts...AND Ben will be in conferences most of the time...so...I won't go this time, but hopefully my hubby will take me there some day!

Love Is In The Air...

Christmas is over at our house...which means Valentine's Day is in full swing. We don't go too over the top but I do like to add a few little touches of red and pink.

 Our kitchen window...this is one of my first Scentsy warmers...I still love it!!

 

 Heart towels...

 

And a little touch of Valentines in the computer stand shelving...

So thankful to have the love of my life to share this love season with! Happy Friday!

Addition Post #4

Okay...finally, an update! In all fairness I had some great pictures of the house...but this silly blogspot isn't letting me upload pictures from my computer! Weird!!! Only pictures from my phone...and normally when I get home from work, it's already dark, so the pictures on my phone have been limited. But tonight when I got home...I fell in love with out master suite! This will be our fireplace...I know it's hard to picture, but this is the first time I have really seen my "vision" start to take shape! I am so excited to have this part done...it will be awhile (clearly) but it will be beautiful. This weekend we are going to go look at tile/slate options...just to get some ideas, my OUR hope is to have the fireplace have stacked stone (or at least look like stacked stone) from the floor to the ceiling...can you picture it????

Now I haven't taken a picture of it, but I promise I will soon...the upstairs is starting to well...get a little messy. Upstairs, the sheet-rock has been taken off the entire wall...that being said my precious husband has decided it is no longer a suitable space to play XBOX. Guess what that means...yup, the XBOX is now down stairs. I think he thought I would really be grumpy about this, but seriously, if you saw the rest of the crazy, muddy mess around here, you would agree this is minor!

I think I say this every time I post about the addition, but...I AM SO EXCITED!!! Can you imagine my excitement level when I get to decorate??? 

Classroom Make-Over

Over winter break I had some time to enjoy Pinterest...I came across a picture of an "office" that had 3 shelves above a desk, and I decided "I LOVE THAT!" My dad had recently built my mom a new wall unit in her living-room which eliminated a need for her computer desk. I asked if I could "store" it in my classroom. Dad had a bit of extra lumber left over from mom's project so he cut out these shelves. A somewhat quick trip to Home Depot and I got six shelf brackets for less than $2.00 a piece! This project cost less than $10.00 (thanks to my handy dad and generous mom)! I had pretty much everything you see on the shelves already in my classroom...a few little added touches and it came together beautifully!

I was then inspired by my wonderful co-worker (Sarah) to revamp my many binders! In teaching there are a few basic blessings: 3" binders, gallon zip lock bags, and sticky notes! Binders are a blessing but also a curse...I like things to be organized and unison...so when I found a card stock book of animal print at Michael's I was beyond excited! My mom and I got all the binders recovered and now they are functional and pretty! Perfect next to my zebra chair (which was my splurge this summer, I couldn't pass it up!)

I decided I spend more time in my classroom than I do at home...so it is important to me that it feels "homey" and is a place I enjoy...and trust me, I enjoy it!

Shopping With The Girls!

On Saturday Landen had a birthday party to go to, so Kyla got to hang out with Auntie and Grandma-Grandma! We met Kate at Micheal's and took Kyla for the day. She is one excellent little shopper! She loved sitting in the cart at Micheal's...I think she enjoyed going everywhere we went, having our attention 100% of the time, and telling everyone she meets "Hi!"

 Look at this sweet little smile! Patiently waiting in line to buy our animal print card stock for Auntie's classroom! (stay tuned for a post containing my latest project!)

 

Then we were off to Target to pick out new towels and rugs for Auntie's new bathroom. I finally remembered to bring a pillow sham from our new bedding so I could get a good match for the new master bath! (Ky liked the blue too!)

We did a little "fun" shopping...we found this supper soft pink fleecy blanket with little white hearts on it...we thought it would be perfect for Valentine's Day! (I especially like Kyla's little crossed feet in this picture, she is ready to cuddle up with that blanky)

And then there was the pink heart pillow! Kyla REALLY liked this! Auntie is going to have to go back and get it for her "love present" for Valentines Day!

Shopping can make a girl hungry...Kyla snack of choice is fruit snacks...now since she was with Auntie and Grandma, she pretty much got to have whatever she wanted, and she wanted 3 packs of fruit snacks...so she ate three small packs of fruit snacks. And she was happy about it! After Target we headed to Sears to check out their big sales since they are going out of business...while we were there Kate called and said her and Landen were on their way to the mall for the hand off...and so ended out girls shopping trip. It was sure a lot of fun though...I'm so excited to have a future shopping partner...she definitely DIDN'T get that from her mother! :)

Family Fun

When my Aunt Gig was here visiting from Virginia we all got out for a little girls time! We went straight for mani/pedies followed by dinner with the guys. It was a nice relaxing day with family...something we don't get often enough, especially with my aunt!

 

Christmas Day

This year we had a full Christmas. We started celebrating Christmas morning at my Grandpa and Grandma Holt's house. We had a yummy Christmas breakfast, and enjoyed a very low key morning visiting and enjoying family, all of which I have no pictures!

After breakfast, we went home to lay low and relax. Next we went over to my Grandpa and Grandma Lane's house. We had a delicious dinner! This year's Christmas was extra special because my aunt and uncle were visiting from Virginia! We had a packed few days while they were here, a lot of memories packed into a very short week.

 Landen was totally into his new DS game...Monster Trucks! (not nearly as fun as his other new game "Super Mario Bros.")

 



Katie and my Aunt Gig hanging out by the dinner table...by the wine :)

Kyla playing with all her new kitchen stuff...we sat and played for at least 30 minutes! She is getting so big!

She also loves her new pony! If you look close you can see she has a clip or "hair pretty" in his mouth while she combs the pony's hair...I think this is a strategy she learned from her mommy!

This picture was too funny not to post...this is Landen's face right when he opened his Jake and the Neverland Pirates ship...he was super excited!

Complete with the "action figures"....he definitely has the "present pose" down!

Kyla getting ready to open her giant present...the kitchen center!

Again...present pose....

I was trying to take a picture of Kyla with her crown on...but you can see big brother thought he needed to jump in the picture too!

Everyone vegging out on the couch...

Kyla and Daddy with their crowns on!

Landen with his crown...

Kyla chowing down on a yummy dinner roll...with the assist from Mommy.

Dad and Ben...

Christmas visiting...

Landen all ready for Christmas dinner!...holding his Christmas cracker!!!

We had a great Christmas and are still in shock that New Year's is right around the corner...where did this year go???