Moving right along...

We passed all of our inspections so far (framing, electric, plumbing, etc)!  Yay!  Sheetrock was dropped Tuesday afternoon, and the insulation will go in Friday.  That means they will start hanging the sheetrock next week, and will likely take all week.  Once that's finished, Mr. Ricky can start installing the cabinets.  Which means I need to pick the freaking cabinet colors pronto.  MOOR PAINTZ!!!11!!1!!

The front and back doors are in:

And, now I need to start thinking about granite again.  We had only decided on the kitchen and master bathroom before we started building, but now I've been questioning it with the paint colors.  We also need to decide on the spare bathrooms, mud area and outdoor kitchen granite.

I went ahead and placed the order on the kitchen appliances minus the ice machine.  That baby was just rocking our budget a little harder than Michael was willing to do.  But, he also put off the hood over the grill outside - which is more of a necessity than my ice.  Both will be revisited when we get to the end.

Sheetrock EVERYWHEREZ!

Once the sheetrock is up, it's going to really start coming together.  Oh, and the brick on the outside, of course. :)

Excitement!

We have secured a doula!!  I am beyond excited.  With this and the birth photographer, I already feel set to deliver this baby.

Also, today, we purchased our outdoor kitchen grill and storage:

Michael is so excited - it is pretty adorable.  We decided on the cabinets with the drawer space to go below the grill, and then just an access door under the sink.  We won't have space for much more storage since the refrigerator space will take up a chunk of the other side.  The only items that will really stay out there are his grill tools in the drawer and then the cleaning supplies & rags in the cabinet.

This past weekend, the floors were scored and stained:

 

 

They've been covered and protected, so now it's just a waiting game.  Once the house is complete and move-in ready, they'll come back to do the apoxy finish - which will make it more clear and super shiny.  Like this:

We should have the exterior doors installed this week, and the mantle redone for that brick lip.  The fireplace was already sitting there when I went by yesterday.  Cabinets are being measured for this week (possibly started, too).  Sheetrock is being dropped tomorrow.  So many exciting things!!  Next on our list is selecting tile for the master shower and master tub & kitchen backsplashes.  Woot woot!

Gas, electric or both?

Yesterday was a busy day!  I pretty much picked out the kitchen appliances.  Now, I'm just waiting on a spec sheet with prices.  Eek!  Michael may have not been thinking right when he let me go by myself!

I selected a gas range, vent (to be hidden in the bell hood), ice machine, and dishwasher.  The two things I was looking for in the dishwasher were NO buttons on the outside (Ethan LOVES to play with the dishwasher knobs and buttons - as I'm sure this kid will) and a powerful clean.  The dishwasher in our old house sucks.  Yes, I know that you should rinse dishes off before you put them through the wash, but I would almost have to completely clean them before running.  I want a GREAT dishwasher.  That was easy (& affordable) enough, as was the vent for the range.  The ice machine stole my heart.  I want pellet ice - no ifs, ands or buts!  The one they carry was also the one in their break room.  It is glorious!  I might be more excited about that then the kick-ass "professional" range.  The one I am looking at is a 36" Wolf gas range with four burners and a built-in griddle (I love my dad's). 

Loving the "signature" red knobs

I would love to bump up to a 48" which would give me six burners and a built-in griddle, but that adds over 3k to the price tag.  Ouch.  Just bumping from a 36" gas to a 36" dual (gas top/electric oven) is right under a $3,500 addition to the price.  I have always liked my electric stove just fine at the old house, but I also come from a long line of "gas is always best" when talking about kitchen appliances.  Decisions, decisions...

Afterwards, we met with Clif's mom's boyfriend who has a cabinet business.  This is one area that we're deviating from DSLD's subcontractors.  We've seen Mr. Rickie's work, and know he produces a beautiful, well-made product.  And, he's fricking awesome.

So, the roof is up, vents for the stove & grill and exterior doors go in today; and we're set for the scoring/staining of the concrete this weekend!  Whoop, whoop!  Next, we need to pick tile for the kitchen & tub backsplashes and the shower.  Oh, and I just got a call from the sheetrock peeps - they're delivering next week. o_0  Shit keeps getting' real, y'all.

Cutting it close...

I asked our GC if we'd still be in for Christmas with the items we added today.  He said, "It'll be cutting it close."  But, we'd rather have our house with everything we want (that we can think of) a few days/weeks late, than to have it with our wish list incomplete just because of time.
Basically, we added a shit-ton of outlets, added can lights in the bedrooms and changed the mantle in the living room to something more like this:

We think it will work better for the stained concrete than granite.

Today and tomorrow, they're adding the shingles to the roof.  Tomorrow, the doors and windows will be dropped; and, this weekend, our floors will be done (minus the apoxy finish at the end)!  At some point this week, brick will be dropped and they'll start working on that in the mix.  On our end, we need to pick out our appliances (like yesterday).  Tomorrow afternoon, we're meeting with our cabinet man.  Oh, and I realized that I need to pick out our color/faux finish for all of the cabinets... Ugh!  I thought I was done with paint!

Moving on to more fun and exciting news... We got to see the baby yesterday!  And, we found out what we're having!

This one might have my nose. ;)

We're not sharing the news quite yet.  Michael wants to keep it a secret just a little longer.  Similar to when we had Ethan and no one knew for two hours, he wants to simmer and enjoy these moments of "our little secret" for a while.  We've already told Ethan, so maybe he'll be the ones to spill the beans. :)  But, just know that we are very excited and can't wait for Ethan to meet baby!  We've been having all kinds of fun daydreams about being in the new house with Ethan and baby, watching them grow up.  It's kind of crazy to think that in a little over 4 months, we'll be parents of two beautiful children!

HR class tonight - and, I am so glad this thing is halfway over.  Not that I am unhappy to be taking it for the wealth of information, but it's a serious PITA to attend with everything going on right now.  Did I mention that I got cornered to work one of the booths at the fair this weekend for the Early Learning Center?  As if I didn't have enough on my plate! :P

Changes

I'm sure that someone is going to hit me or I'm just going to hit myself before this building process is over.  I contacted my GC for the 2nd time this week regarding electrical work.  The first time was simply a miscommunication from our original discussions of the electrical plans.  Michael wanted internet to be hardwired everywhere there is a cable outlet, which it had not been when we stopped in this week.  No problem.  But, today... I decided I wanted to add all of these other electrical outlets and ideas.  Obviously, I'm probably adding to our price for the electrician, but I'd rather do it now that try to figure it out later.

Basically, I want an outlet in every room's closet.  I was reading about how helpful that can be for cordless vacuums or charging phones out of the way, or anything that might need to be plugged up and out of sight.  And, outlets in the eaves outside the house for easy Christmas decorating,  I also want all of the outside lights to be connected to a master switch in the master bedroom.  If we hear something going on outside, we can immediately flip a switch without having to run across the house.  The last thing would be for the outside outlets to be connected to a switch in the main entrance.  That way there's no having to set a timer or walking around to every outlet and plugging those Christmas lights in.  Just flip a switch, and voila!

So, yeah...  Hopefully, those are the last items as far as electrical goes.

Yesterday, we had our first sit-down look at cabinets.  We pretty much need to make a decision by this afternoon to stay on schedule.  We're waiting on two estimates, and then we'll go from there.  Monday, we are doing our walk for the floors, and those will be worked on next weekend.  I think the roof is the current project (well...and, the electrical still!).  The air conditioning system is in place as of this week, too.  Every time we go out there, something new has happened!  We are staying pretty darn excited! :)  Oh, and we FINALLY made our final decisions on paint.  I am pretty stoked about that!!  I think the palette we chose is going to flow very well and be absolutely perfect.  I haven't had any thoughts about crazy patterns or anything like that in the nursery.  It's important to me that it be something we can live with for more than several years.  With the stripes in Ethan's old room, I knew that we'd be painting again relatively soon (if we stayed in that house).  Thankfully, our renters love the paint and have a baby about a year younger than Ethan.  I was seriously going to cry over all that work we put into it if they asked us to paint over it!

I have been feeling noticeably more calm over the last few days.  I'm pretty sure I can pinpoint it on a few things.  I cut back at my weekend job a good bit.  That has definitely made me feel more in control of this crazy life right now.  The house is coming along at a quick, but comfortable pace - with very few hiccups.  I've been staying consistent with yoga - which I have been using as my "me" time during the week.  And, we are now almost 18 weeks!  This pregnancy is close to halfway over!  How crazy is that?!  I've been feeling the baby roll around every once in a while.  That's pretty sweet.  My little mango. :)

I probably won't post any new pictures of the house until there is a noticeable change (ie. sheet rock).  I don't want to bombard my blog with pictures that look the same - except one might have some wires in it.  Hopefully, I'll have a new picture of the baby to post soon! :)

Letters to Ethan & baby

Sometimes, my children, you are put into situations to learn life lessons.  Most of the time, these lessons are not pleasant.  They are not something you appreciate at the time, but they mold your character and you learn to appreciate them later.  I want to share an experience from this morning that, in the grand scheme of life, was not a huge life lesson.  However, it made me think about situations you might go through that may seem insignificant to others, but can help to make you a better person.

My morning started off like any other - lots of kisses and giggles, and wishings of a "good day" to each other.  I headed out on my daily commute to work, and decided to stop at Starbucks for a morning drink.  I was waiting for my turn to enter the drive-thru when a black GMC truck driven by a young man pulled in front of me.  He came from the other direction, saw me and still decided that he should be next in line.  In that moment, I was pretty annoyed, even angry.  How inconsiderate of him; how selfish of him!  The line was not a quick one, so I had a few minutes to sit and stew over this jerk in front of me who obviously thought that he was so much more important and his time more precious.  Right before I approached the window to pay, I had a thought - "If I was a better person, I would turn this situation around and pay for the customer behind me."  Honestly, it was just a thought and I did not have any real intention of doing it.  But, once I got to the window, my mind was changed.  I told the cashier to let them know I had been cut in line by the person in front of me, but instead of letting it ruin my day, I wanted to make theirs.  The guy looked pretty surprised and was very thankful to me for doing something so nice.  It made me feel a little better at the time, although I was still pretty annoyed by the guy in the black truck.

Honestly, I have no idea if I "made the day" of the person behind me.  And, I have no clue if the guy in the black truck gave a second thought to his rude actions this morning.  What I do know is that I did something kind for someone else, even when it was not what I wanted to do.  Sometimes, in life, that is exactly what you will be faced with - and sometimes, on a much grander scale.  You may have a boss who treats you like dirt, but that doesn't mean that you treat your coworkers or subordinates in that same manner.  There may be someone at school who is ruthless and cruel to you, but do not let that harden your kind and gentle heart.  I will be frank and honest - there are some pretty ugly, nasty adults AND children in this world.  Being the bigger person will probably not make you feel any better about someone being mean to you - just like paying for the person  behind me did not make me forget or stop being angry about the guy cutting in front of me.  What you are doing, though, is perpetuating kindness to others.  What might seems small to you, could potentially reach tens or even hundreds of others if you live that way every day.  What if the person behind me AND the guy at the window decide that because of what they witnessed through me, they should do something nice for someone else today as well?  If everyone did that just based on one person's random act of kindness, the world would be a much sweeter place.

What I want you to remember from all of this is that while you are small, you can still have such a huge impact on the world just by how you live and react to each situation in your life.  I love you both so very much, and no matter how mean and ugly the world seems, you are better than that.  Always know that your heart and soul are better than that, and hold yourself to that standard. <3

Hiccups

And, it's framed!



It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

So, it pretty much looks like a house.  That's awesome.  Last week, I went over our electrical plan with our "acting" General Contractor.  Michael and I went over the plans and made sure that we were on the same page with where all of the cable/drops would be, as well as speakers.  The next step will be finding a sound system for the house.  Basically, we want to be able to switch from the TV to iPod seamlessly, and adjust what speakers are playing in what rooms.  Shouldn't be too hard, right?
They also started to install the plumbing.  Saturday, we saw the shower/tub combos were already put in, as well as the plumbing and gas lines started.  At some point this week or weekend, we'll finalize the concrete stains and designs. The master tub will take about two weeks to come in, and then that will be installed.   However, we have run into our first problem... On our visit, we noticed that the master tub space looks like a standard 5' length.  We tried to measure it by our wingspans (since your wingspan is relatively close to your height for most people), and I could touch both sides of the framing boards.  Our plans clearly call for a 66" tub space, and, dammit, that's what we're getting.  We can't return the tub!  I emailed our GC about it and he said that he and the plumber noticed that on Friday and that the framer is coming back to correct.  All DSLD houses have the standard 5' - there's not an upgrade option on that item.  So, he probably just assumed the same for our house - which he shouldn't have done, but it was an honest mistake.  I just hope that the correcting of this issue does not interfere with our completion date.

Our paint colors needed to be picked like yesterday.  We went to the Sherwin Williams in Denham to try to take care of that about two weeks ago.  It was a total disaster.  All they had were a few tri-fold brochures - no catalogues.  We picked up a few swatches, and were able to at least decide on our front door stain and shutter colors.  I grabbed a few home idea magazines at Home Depot, so hopefully we'll get inspired by those.  Must complete the rest of this task TODAY.

I am pretty excited on the baby front!  I booked our birth photographer and had my first prenatal massage last week!  Paris Parker has this fabulous spa series package.  You get six 1-hour services for $300.  Since I had a nice sized gift card from my birthday to use, I figured this would be the perfect way to use it.  I will literally get at least one massage per month from now until March, when the baby is due.  Hopefully, between that and prenatal yoga 2-3 times a week, I am super set for a fabulous pregnancy and delivery. ;)

Ethan started sleeping in a toddler bed two nights ago.  I thought we were going to be dealing with a lot of up and down all night because he's never had the opportunity to get out of bed and play before.  However, he stayed down both nights!  I watched him toss and turn a few times on the monitor last night, but he stayed in bed asleep.  We might have a slight problem in the mornings though.  Michael got up this morning and heard Ethan waking up.  He went to walk across the house to his room, and Ethan met him in the kitchen!  We've known that he knows how to open doors, but just didn't think that he would crawl out of bed and open the door immediately.  I just figured he might find his toys on the floor and start playing!  Opps!  But, at least we know he's ready for that transition once we're in the house.  We will need to start thinking about either another crib (since Ethan's bed converts to a toddler and then full bed), or picking a toddler bed out for Ethan.

Tubs, fixtures and FRAMING! Oh my!

Ermahgerd!

Yeah, so... We're framing.  I guess you could say it's getting pretty serious.

Now that everything is moving along, we're starting to get behind.  Uhm, how did this happen?  No clue!  So, today, we picked out our tub (a story all on its own), toilets, kitchen & bath fixtures, sinks, etc. etc.  It actually went a lot smoother than I would have anticipated!  Part of the reason is that she had the list from the other house similar to ours.  So, we picked everything that we loved and when it came to "Hmmm...I don't know..", we went with their picks.  Can I just say that I am already in love with my kitchen and master bathroom?  The story with the tub is that we had to place a special order for the tub since Michael wanted a larger than standard size.  I knew the rough additional cost that it was going to be, but was hoping to skip that part with Michael around.  I've been keeping track of our budget and knew that the tub would be fine.  If you know Michael, you know how cheap he is.  With this house, he hasn't been nearly as bad because we do want the best.  Sooo....I pretty much let him pick the tub.  Then she tells us the cost and reminds us that it's a special order.  Michael asks what the difference in that and the standard size (basically the garden tubs in all DSLD houses).  The answer... about $900.  I thought Michael was about to shomit.  So, I reminded him about how we were saving so much on the flooring budget with the stained concrete and that opened up the budget for other items , including the tub.  He proceeded to give me the stank eye on anything else I loved that was more than standard (not by any obscene amount!).  Sorry, dude!  My kitchen and bathroom are going to be awesome! ;)

We have our next prenatal appointment on Monday, and it should be fairly uneventful.  I do have to get more blood work done (Yippee! /sarcasm) since the baby wouldn't cooperate on a couple of positions at the ultrasound to get the measurements they needed.  Apparently, they can do a blood test for what was missed.

We've been listening to the baby's heartbeat with Ethan.  He is so sweet about it.  He sits there and listens to it and smiles.  The other night, he kept trying to find "his baby" with the doppler on his belly.  So.stinking.cute.  Oh, and I think he has a girlfriend at school.  o_0  He ALWAYS talks about Tessa.  I mean, seriously.  Anytime someone mentions school, he immediately starts jabbering about Tessa!  I asked his teacher if she noticed anything, and she said that they sit across from each other at the table, so he is looking right at her when they're coloring or working on anything.  And, I noticed when I pick him up, he naps next to her.  This "Tessa infatuation" is pretty adorable.

So, minus the craziness at work, it's been a pretty good week.  They should wrap up framing on Wednesday (granted this damn storm in the gulf will stay away), and the plumbing guy will start working on his part Thursday.  Oh, and we should be deciding on our stained concrete colors/pattern/etc!  Woohoo!

Insurance & Med-free Birth

With all of the crazy fun going on with Obamacare, I felt like this would be the appropriate time to share my fun insurance story from this morning!

I have BCBS of Louisiana.  It's a high deductible plan, which means that pretty much every single thing you can go to the doctor for is subject to that deductible first.  BCSB won't pay for anything until the deductible is met.  So, I decided to call them with a couple of questions this morning.  I realize that my policy could change for 1/1, but it might also stay the same.  As a former Girl Scout, I try to always be prepared.

So, my questions were regarding coverage/reimbursement for doula services and a breast pump.  Now, I still have my breast pump from Ethan, but on the chance that it craps out on me, I'd like to know that I won't have to come out of pocket another $250-300.  I even had a CPT code ready for them.  The lady was nice enough, although she had obviously never even heard of a doula before.  I explained that I knew this would be something I would pay for and then submit a claim, but I didn't want to waste any one's time if it wasn't going to at least be applied towards my deductible.  She comes back and tells me that the doula services are not covered at all, and that breast pumps are covered under the following:
- maximum $40 reimbursement for a manual pump that can be purchased at your local drugstore
- electric breast pumps must be purchased at a DME facility and will be subject to your deductible
- hospital-grade pumps will only be reimbursed if your physician has called ahead and obtained an authorization

Meh.  I get the breast pump part and can deal with it.  But, the denial of the doula service really annoys me.  The whole point of having a doula is to manage your pain through labor and delivery.  What I am trying to accomplish would save at least a thousand dollars for BCBS.  I had an epidural for Ethan.  The epidural and anesthetist fee that my insurance paid was around $1500-2000.  I'm asking for them to give me credit or pay a portion of $700.  Sounds like a bargain to me!  Yes, I could still end up with an epi, or even a C-section.  But, the doula services are designed to help avoid that.

So, why do I want to (try to) go natural?  A few reasons...
- When I had Ethan, I made it to 8 cm before I got the epidural.  Had I known how far I was (they checked me after), I might have changed my mind.  I was right there.
- The pure euphoria that (according to women who have been there) washes over you immediately following is something I want to experience.  Yes, it was amazing with Ethan; and no, I wouldn't give anything back.  But, I would like to try to experience this birth in a different way.
- The recovery (again, according to women who have been there) is MUCH smoother than with an epi or section.
- I DO NOT want to have another catheter.  I think that was a large part of the reason I felt like my bladder was going to fall out of my urethra for months.

There are downfalls as well.  If I were to be cut this time, there would be no anesthesia down there.  I've heard that is excruciating.  Thankfully, I did not need to be with Ethan, but that doesn't mean jack for this pregnancy.  One thing I am doing to assist in that area is squatting.  That is one of the best ways to prepare your body for childbirth.  Many women who go med-free even give birth in that position.  It opens your hips up and gives the baby plenty of space to squeeze through.  Studies have shown that women are more likely to tear or need to be cut when giving birth on their back.

But, enough of all that.  I am still educating myself and trying to use my time wisely to make sure know all of my options.  Having been through this before is super helpful, though.  I feel like my expectations are set at a more "real" standard because I know how my body acted for the last go 'round.  However, when it comes to pregnancy and childbirth, always expect the unexpected. ;)

It's a SLAB!

We have a slab!  Woohoo!

Is it just me, or does it look kinda small?

We are so excited!  Unfortunately, we didn't make it out there in time to do our hand prints on the back patio.  I dug our names out the best I could.

CHEESE!

 

And, now we're waiting on the framing materials to drop this week.  After that, they have 8 days to finish framing.  Then, it will really start to look like a house!

That brings me back to my previous bitching about the rain.  Seriously dude?  GFY.  But, we're still on track to be in the house before Christmas.  Even if we don't get the keys until the night before.  We will sleep on air mattresses, but we will be in our house for Christmas.  It will be glorious.

I was thinking about it last night.  Every time we came across something in our old house that we weren't happy with, the standard response was, "In the next house, we will [insert corrected annoyance/awesome updated item from old house here]."  Now, everything we want, we'll be doing to this house.  I'm sure that once we're in, we'll find things we want to change at some point.  But, there won't be this waiting game attached to it.  THIS is the house we want to raise our family in, that we want to STAY in for many, many years if not the rest of our lives.  So, if I say I want to plant fruit trees, Michael can't tell me that we'll do it in the next house because he doesn't want to waste the time or money on the house we're not staying in. ;)  CANNOT.WAIT!

And, I've started looking into digging the pool at the same time or right after the house is finished.  Crazy much?  It's a stretch, but we'll see.

So, ready for some baby talk?  I'm 15 weeks and still feel like my energy is gone.  I'm going to blame it on the rain.  Seems like a sound reason since the rain is interfering with the house, which means it's interfering with my happiness on some level.  I feel like I'm in a funk.  I am super overwhelmed with work, the HR class, the PHR test in December, working the weekends....I need to get away for a few days and recoup.  But, we're getting into the holidays, and there is SO MUCH going on right now.  Typically, October and November are my absolute favorite months.  The weather is gorgeous and I have so many great memories during those months.  I did request off for our anniversary weekend, so I am praying that MAYBE we can go somewhere for a couple of days.  Seriously, I might lose my shit soon if I don't catch a solid break.

Remind me again why the hell I took on so much at one time?  Oh yeah, because I am the dumbz.