20 weeks & I'm exhausted!

So, Mommy has already hit the "I get winded easily" point - or maybe I've just had a few rough days.  This does not give me the warm and fuzzies about the next 20 weeks!  Oh yeah, I've crossed the halfway mark [little pregnant dance]!  Because of everything being all packed up, I haven't been able to compare this pregnancy to Ethan's as much.  I do have my past blog posts to refer back to, so that has helped a little.

At this point with Ethan, I had gained about 3lbs.  I also weighed 20lbs less than I do now.  So far with this pregnancy, I've gained 1 pound.  I am more than ok with that considering that I'm already starting ahead of the weight game.  Being part of the Expecting Success study has made me feel better about where I am.  According to their prediction chart, I should have gained at least 3-4lbs more, but my nutritionist keeps telling me that I am still in a great spot.  Bottom line - I'm not worried.  This baby will grow how it sees fit.

I will say that I have definitely noticed that I carry this baby MUCH lower than Ethan.  Most of my pictures from Ethan's pregnancy show me carrying him much higher.  With this one, I feel like the baby is nestling right above my bladder - and I do mean that I feel it; literally.  I'll have to get Michael to take a picture of me in the same dress from this time with Ethan to get a better comparison.

Moving on to the house... We have picked shower and backsplash tile!  Woohoo!  And, I received a text that our wood beam is up:


It came from an old cotton mill in Alabama.

We can stain it darker, which is what Michael really wants.  It has a lot of character and nifty markings that I want to preserve as much as possible, though.  Two rows of brick will go in the space above it from the kitchen side.  I think it looks pretty freaking sweet, and gives our house a little something extra unique.

The sheetrock will be complete Tuesday - textured and ready for paint.  I spoke to the lady I would like to have antique the kitchen cabinets, and she'll come out to look and give us a price as soon as the cabinets are in.

And, now we've hit the point where we need to start considering our permanent financing options as well as insurance.  Dum, dum, DUM....  Turns out that it's expensive no matter which way you turn it.  Be forewarned - if you build your own house, it is freaking expensive before, during and wrapping up, but it is worth it.  Part of our problem is that we're not first time homebuyers, and we're not selling our first house.  100% financing options don't really exist for people like us.  So, we're looking at a couple of different options that will get us to where we want/need to be.  Yes, we will have to come out of pocket even more money, but we do plan on staying in this house for the long haul.

Which brings me to my next topic... Christmas.  Michael and I decided that we are not going to do gifts this year.  We are making our ways around to each family "group" to let them know to please not do for us since we won't be participating in that aspect.  We feel like this is the perfect opportunity to take a step away from the materialistic side of the holidays and try to refocus on the "true meaning of Christmas".  We have no idea what our funds will look like next month as we wrap up the house, and I have no idea when I would even have time to shop or where to store gifts, etc. etc. etc.  This option just made sense for us.  We haven't decided what we're going to do for Ethan, because we do want to keep the magic and sparkle there for him.  I guess that will mostly depend on our funds and where we are at that time.

So, next week we will possibly be looking at more complete house.  Once the painting is started and the cabinets are going in, that's really going to shape things up.  CANNOT.WAIT!