New Windows

Our stimulus checks went to good use today, as we decided to put the money toward new windows for the house. Ours are 32 year old contractor-grade windows. Several of them don't open right, don't stay open, don't lock properly and/or have a broken pane. I would highly recommend to anyone who is purchasing a house to check out the windows very carefully and ask for new ones if you can. I sure wish we would have when we had the chance.

We wanted to make one big upgrade each year. Last year was buying the house...that was the biggest upgrade! After a great deal of research, we decided that new windows would be beneficial for several reasons: saving energy, reducing the chilly breeze in winter, and we figured no one else would be as dumb as we were and buy this house with bad windows when we decide to sell it. Much deliberation led to our decision to get Barrington Soft Lite windows. They aren't the best you can buy, but we don't plan to live here forever so we went for value and quality, plus these were the closest match to our current windows, which is a requirement of our HOA. The next step up is pretty much buying for the brand, which doesn't make much sense for our situation.

We have 10 windows in our townhouse. We had 5 of them replaced today. We chose to do the four in the front of the house and the one in the baby's room. The plan is to get the other 5 replaced before the winter weather arrives. It didn't cost any more to have just a few replaced now and a few later. This way we could make sure the house looks uniform from the front and fix the baby's window (it was one of the ones that was broken) so we could finish redecorating the room, and save some money to do the second half of the house later. I suppose they figure that no one only replaces half the windows in their house so they don't care if they have to come out twice. Any chance we'd receive two stimulus checks in one year? Fat chance I think.

Memorial Day with the Gibbens Family

Over Memorial Day weekend, Ryan and I drove to Okeechobee, FL to visit his family. His parents both live there, as does his youngest brother Travis. His sisters, Stacey and Sarah drove down from Georgia to spend the weekend there too.

The drive down was a piece of cake. We had a great visit. Friday we split the day between his mom and dad. We had lunch, went to see the new Indiana Jones movie and ended the evening chatting it up. On Saturday, we spent the day with his mom. They went golfing most of the morning (I got to sleep in), and his mom had a little baby shower for us in the afternoon before we headed to dinner. It was really nice. We played a few of the best baby shower games and they showered us with great presents to get us started. On Sunday, we spent the day with his dad and Annie. We had a cookout, and they too showered us with baby gifts. The guys played pool in the afternoon and we ended the night a little early to make sure we got enough sleep to drive back on Monday. We left at 4:30am and arrived home last night sometime between 9 and 10pm. The drive back was more taxing on me at least, but it wasn't as bad as I'd expected.

Thank you all for such a nice visit, and for the wonderful baby presents! Everything will definitely be put to good use.

Once we figure out how to download the video from our new video camera, I'll post some here.

Test Kitchen, Furniture and More

We've been so busy the last few weeks, but I wanted to play a little catch-up before our trip to Florida on Thursday. When we get back, we will want to share pix and have a few more busy weeks coming up...so here it goes:

Ryan has been experimenting and getting really good in the kitchen...no complaints here! I'm starting to enjoy dish detail in return for all his hard work (we used to take turns cooking and doing dishes). My Aunt Jan and Uncle Jeff bought us the America's Test Kitchen Cookbook for our wedding. To be honest, we got stuck in a rut of the same 5 dishes each week. We didn't really use that cookbook much until my dad explained how useful it really is...then we started to try it out.

This cookbook has seriously turned our day to day chore of cooking (and too often eating out) into an enjoyable experience almost daily. We look forward to the experience of making and eating our own food now. Ryan is much better than I am with the recipes, and has recently made some of the best food I've ever eaten - honestly. He made a traditional Italian meal, completely from scratch last Thursday. The ravioli were fantastic, but the biscotti were absolutely amazing. On Sunday, he made peanut butter cookies that were "oh my goodness" good. So for anyone out there who even somewhat enjoys cooking, and would like a little help making the experience and the food a little better, you should try this cookbook: http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Kitchen-Family-Cookbook-Revised/dp/193361501X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211389191&sr=8-1

My dad came back to visit for a few days to finish the baby's furniture. He and Ryan slaved away for hours on end to finish it all and each piece is simply gorgeous! The dresser is over 300 pounds. The best part is, they all match! You have no idea how big I am on every piece of furniture matching or complementing another, so I'm in heaven. It was so great to have my dad down for a few more days. I hated to see him go. Thanks again Dad, I know how hard you worked and I appreciate the effort and the furniture more than you know...and so will our little girl. Ryan is going to finish painting the pieces, then I'll post the pictures of them. It may be a few more weeks before he gets them done because we have so much going on over the next couple of weeks. Only a few finishing touches on the baby's room too - and we'll put it all together and take some pictures for everyone to see.

As for me? I've been trying to keep the house in order and running errands. I also finished planting the garden this weekend. It doesn't sound like I've been doing much, I know. But I feel like I have...and I'm awfully tired at the end of each day. Everything is going well with the baby. I feel pretty good too. I went to the doctor today and he said all looks good. I also did my glucose tolerance test and will only hear about it if there's a problem. I have lots of aches and pains, but nothing major. My worst symptom so far has been the sharp pains in my hips, but I can't complain. I am starting to have a little more swelling, but the doctor said that's normal. I just have to monitor it, elevate my feet a lot, and keep away from the salt. That's the hard part, because Ryan keeps insisting on buying all the salty snacks he can find while I'm trying hard not to snack much and keep away from all things salty. But this too, shall be worth resisting the temptation.

We had our second baby class tonight. This one was the newborn basics. It was really basic, but we did learn a little something or two. In about two weeks we start the four-series class about childbirth - yikes! The doctor said today, that in 10 weeks I'll be considered "full-term." Of course I knew that, but it sounded so scary - 10 weeks!?! I suppose it is time for the childbirth class.

We're looking forward to visiting family in Florida this Memorial Day weekend...and of course we're looking forward to more "Hockey Nights in Pittsburgh!" - Let Go Pens!!!

Decisions Finally Made Easy

Much of the baby furniture we like is too expensive to purchase. So Ryan and I had chosen less expensive pieces that were cute and functional, but would likely need to be replaced in a couple of years. But I asked my dad if he'd make the baby's bed because it is difficult to find for such a simple structure and is very expensive for what you get (because as most of you know, we aren't getting a crib, but are using a Montessori floor bed). When he said he would make the bed, he also said he'd make the rest of the baby's furniture, which was SO exciting! Now we can have the same cute style that I like and it'll be very sturdy...not to mention our baby girl will have homemade furniture that her pappy made. (sniff, sniff!)

So my dad visited for the past week and started the furniture. He designed it all from scratch, using a combination of some pictures of furniture I found and liked. He finished the bed frame, which you can see below (no, I'm not putting our newborn on the floor, she'll be in a bassinet for a little while). He still has some finishing work to do on the book shelves and the dresser, so I'll save those photos for comparison later. My dad is going to come back down so he and Ryan can work on it in a few weeks. I'm so excited to see the finished products...and the finished room that Ryan is still diligently working on. I'll be sure to share the pictures when it is all finished.

Crib Mattress Sized, Montessori Floor Bed

Baby Belly Week 24

Some of our readers have been asking if my belly's growing, since we haven't posted pictures lately. Don't you know this is a touchy subject for a pregnant lady? :-) Just kidding

So, here's a picture Ryan took today...the belly is definitely growing and has three more months to grow:

Test Kitchen and More

We've been so busy the last few weeks, but I wanted to play a little catch-up before our trip to Florida on Thursday. When we get back, we will want to share pix and have a few more busy weeks coming up...so here it goes:

Ryan has been experimenting and getting really good in the kitchen...no complaints here! I'm starting to enjoy dish detail in return for all his hard work (we used to take turns cooking and doing dishes). My Aunt Jan and Uncle Jeff bought us the America's Test Kitchen Cookbook for our wedding. To be honest, we got stuck in a rut of the same 5 dishes each week. We didn't really use that cookbook much until my dad explained how useful it really is...then we started to try it out.

This cookbook has seriously turned our day to day chore of cooking (and too often eating out) into an enjoyable experience almost daily. We look forward to the experience of making and eating our own food now. Ryan is much better than I am with the recipes, and has recently made some of the best food I've ever eaten - honestly. He made a traditional Italian meal, completely from scratch last Thursday. The ravioli were fantastic, but the biscotti were absolutely amazing. On Sunday, he made peanut butter cookies that were "oh my goodness" good. So for anyone out there who even somewhat enjoys cooking, and would like a little help making the experience and the food a little better, you should try this cookbook: http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Kitchen-Family-Cookbook-Revised/dp/193361501X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211389191&sr=8-1

My dad came back to visit for a few days to finish the baby's furniture. He and Ryan slaved away for hours on end to finish it all and each piece is simply gorgeous! The dresser is over 300 pounds. The best part is, they all match! You have no idea how big I am on every piece of furniture matching or complementing another, so I'm in heaven. It was so great to have my dad down for a few more days. I hated to see him go. Thanks again Dad, I know how hard you worked and I appreciate the effort and the furniture more than you know...and so will our little girl. Ryan is going to finish painting the pieces, then I'll post the pictures of them. It may be a few more weeks before he gets them done because we have so much going on over the next couple of weeks. Only a few finishing touches on the baby's room too - and we'll put it all together and take some pictures for everyone to see.

As for me? I've been trying to keep the house in order and running errands. I also finished planting the garden this weekend. It doesn't sound like I've been doing much, I know. But I feel like I have...and I'm awfully tired at the end of each day. Everything is going well with the baby. I feel pretty good too. I have lots of aches and pains, but nothing major. My worst symptom so far has been the sharp pains in my hips, but I can't complain. I am starting to have a little more swelling, but the doctor said that's normal. I just have to monitor it, elevate my feet a lot, and keep away from the salt. That's the hard part, because Ryan keeps insisting on buying all the salty snacks he can find while I'm trying hard not to snack much and keep away from all things salty. But this too, shall be worth resisting the temptation.

We're looking forward to visiting family in Florida this Memorial Day weekend...and of course we're looking forward to more "Hockey Nights in Pittsburgh!" Let Go Pens!!!