Ice Days Pictures

Here are a few of the ice days pictures I've been promising. Our power went out around 10:30-11:00 Tuesday night. It wasn't that big of a deal that night, we just piled on the blankets and went to bed. It got cold...but tolerable. The next day it was still out and the house was really cold so we pretty much spent the day in the bed under covers with a radio as our entertainment. We debated on leaving that night but knew the roads could probably still be "iffy" so we stuck it out. We did leave to try and find something to eat, warm up in the car, and look for a hotel room (yeah, no luck there). That night, we piled up in the bed again. This time we had 2 comforters, 2 quilts, our sheets, and some throw blankets. We were both dressed in sweats and the dogs even had on shirts to try and keep warm. We lit as many candles as we could trying to make the room warmer. Didn't work. It got done to 47 degrees in our house and we about froze to death. The next morning (Thursday) I recieved a text that we were out of school for Friday so we packed up and left town. We just couldn't stand another night in that igloo! It was a good thing we left because the power didn't come back on until late Friday! We saw some incredible damage on our way to Batesville. It literally looked like a tornado had come through. We are home now...and so very thankful to have our power! My heart goes out to all those who are still sitting in the dark freezing to death. Being without power is miserable and I can't imagine what they are going through and could be going through for the next few weeks....

woo hoo!

We got a text from our neighbors that the power was back on a few hours ago! WooHoo! It was out for almost 72 hours so we are soooooooooo glad that we left when we did. We'll be heading home tomorrow to clean, do laundry, and try to get back to normal. We still don't have school on Monday but faculty and staff have to come so I'll go back to work for the first time in a week! I'll post some of our "icy" pictures when we get back.

Blackout

We have been without power the last 2 days and after freezing our patooties off (it got down to 47 in our house last night) we have left town for my parents house. Not 30 minutes after bailing town we got a call from our neighbor that power was back on but it's gone off again since. We'll be back in town in a few days and I'll post some pics of our lovely ice storm adventures!!!

18 Weeks

Essie Claire is now the size of a large bell pepper. She's 51/2 inches from head to bottom-that's so crazy to think about! I'm sure she's enjoyed her warm home during this ice storm. I'm glad we're out of school today and tomorrow...I apparently picked up a nasty virus or something while at the hospital earlier this week. I've been running fever and have a nasty cough/sinus junk. Our power has been going out and coming back on several times tonight. So we're hoping it hangs on for a little while longer for us!

A first!

My friend Jane brought me this super cute burp cloth yesterday while we were at the hospital. It really brightened my day! It's also the first item with Essie Claire's name on it!!! Thanks Jane!

How we spent Sunday...

We had a very eventful Sunday! It started at 2:30 am when I awoke with some abdominal pains. I chalked it up to round ligament (ie growing uterus) pain, took some tylenol and went back to sleep. 6:00 I woke up again this time in serious pain...mostly in my middle left back area that shot around to my side/lower abdomen. I also noticed some blood in my urine. So off to the ER we go. Thankfully the place was empty. I was in an enormous amount of pain at that point and couldn't sit down. Got checked in by the triage nurse, put on the lovely gown, blew 2 veins trying to get an IV in, and settled in for a long morning. After some pain medicine that only worked from the neck up, some ultrasounds, and hours of waiting...the verdict was that I must have some kidney stones (I had one in high school before). They wanted to admit me to the hospital so they could administer pain meds and flush me out. So off we go to the women's center, I was given some Stadol (sp?) and nausea medicine which made me fly high. I have never been so messed up on medicine before!!! Whew! I don't know how some women can actually function to give birth on that stuff. I couldn't even keep my eyes open or lift up my head! I slept for a few hours and wasn't in as much pain. The doctor came in to see me and said if I felt better that I could be released that evening. I was pain free from around 4pm so he let me go at 6:30 last night. During the night, the pain came back full force at 4:00 am but I took a pain pill and it helped alot thankfully. So yesterday, Travis and I had a "practice run" for when Essie comes. We flew to the hospital while I was groaning in pain, was admitted to the women's center where I'll be having her, and got a sneak peek at what is coming our way! I also had my first IV and stay in the hospital ever! Today, I'm worn out, bruised all over my arm where I was poked and proded, and hoping the pain doesn't come back! Here are a few pics of our day...warning: these are super sexy! Keep in mind that I was in a TON of pain!

Meet Essie Claire

Here is a short clip of Essie Claire the day we met her. We videotaped the entire ultrasound and I edited it down to just this short little clip to put on here. This was one of my favorite parts. She kicks her head back, stretches her arms and legs, and shakes her head back and forth. I loved it! Travis and I have watched this part over and over again the past week.

Good deals

Travis and I never pay full price for anything...it just feel wrong! So we've been tickled to find some great finds on sale. I heard that one of our local boutiques was having a good sale on all their fall/winter merchandise so I stopped by today and picked up these two cute outfits for Essie Claire to wear next fall/winter. I also had bought this diaper bag a looong time ago for a great deal and I'm so tickled to be having a lil girl so I can use it!

And it begins...

Trav and I made a run to hobby lobby this afternoon to pick up these drawer pulls for the changing table. I think they look super cute on there! They look alil orange in these pics but are really a pale pink. We also found this height chart to hang in Essie Claire's room. It's pale pink with white dots but that's kinda hard to see in the lighting. can't wait to pick out the fabrics for her bedding! :)

17 Weeks

Essie Claire is now the size of a turnip...even though she looked much bigger in the ultrasound. She is a very active little girl...I can't wait to feel those little movements! My appointment went well yesterday. I had gained NEGATIVE 7 pounds (yes I lost weight this time)...all due to my lovely digestive issues.

I have not gone out and went shopping crazy. Last night we had to run to Target to get a shower gift and I picked up 3 pairs of Baby Legs that were marked 50% off. Then today I must admit I did order this cute little bubble outfit from Gymboree. I also ordered some hairbows that were marked down to $1.50 and some zebra prints socks that were also on clearance! So in my opinion, I have been quite restrained.

I wore this shirt today to announce our good news. By the way, my students did not let me get in the door before hounding me to find out the news. (no, they did not read the shirt) When I told them it is a girl, they let out the loudest shriek of excitement. I wish I had a camera to capture that! It was really cute! My witty principal also sent out this creative email that I thought so was cute I just had to share:

Yippee, Hooray, we finally know

What Randi and Travis will be bringing home!

If you, too, would like to check your bet

Look no further than Randi's chest!

Congratulations, Randi! We love you and are just tickled........;)

And her name is...

Our little girl will be named Esther Claire House. She is named after both my grandmother and great-grandmother. We will most likely call her "Essie". And tonight her peepaw (Travis' dad) began calling her "E-claire" for short. We love that and I'm sure that nickname will stick!!! And just for the record, our boy name was McEndree James House (also family names) and we would have called him Mac. So we will use that if a boy comes our way down the road! :)

It's a....................

Well...after 20 minutes of looking and trying to get Bean to cooperate we finally heard the words that we've so anxiously waited for the past 4 months. It's a.................Girl!!! We were so shocked...I was so expecting to hear boy. In fact I called her "he" the entire time. The tech stopped on her "part" and drew a line to it. I said "oh, it's a boy". "NO, she said, and typed "GIRL" on the screen. I couldn't even get the word out...I was just so filled with emotion. The second picture is of when she first told us. Just look at daddy's face in the third picture. He just smiled and smiled the entire time. It was so good to have everyone there to see her. She was really active the entire time and kicked her head back, sucked her hand, and really gave us a show. Here are a few of the latest pictures of our little girl.

Less than one day...

Less than one day to go until we find out who this little Bean is!!! I have no idea of what to expect. I've flip-flopped back and forth so many times. I've called Bean a "he" for the most part but I truly have no inclination as to what we're going to hear tomorrow. My parents & niece Haley are coming down as well as Travis' parents. So we will have an ultrasound room filled with excited folks. I just pray Bean cooperates and gives us a clear view of his/her "parts". :) I promise to post the big news tomorrow!

Cute Onesies

I found some really cute onesies on etsy.com that I know I'll be ordering soon. Thanks Amy for showing me the blogging onesie...I HAVE to get this one! :)

Prayers needed

Please keep this family in your prayers. Kelly gave birth to a little girl today and the baby is not doing well at all. I do not know her personally-I've just been keeping up with her blog for awhile. She has an incredible story and faith. Please pray for them. Her blog is here:http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/

dang-it

Well dang. It happened. I got my first stretch mark. I guess it was inevitable...but this early, cmon!!!

baby finds

We went to Target tonight to scope our their toy clearance. We found a few baby items that we loved. We got this cute crinkle book, Baby Einstein blocks, some wipes, and this playcenter. Everything was 30% off...not the 75% I usually like to get but it'll do! They did have a lot of cute clearance clothes but we'll need to wait a few more days before buying those! :)

Peace at last

This morning it was soooo cold that both dogs were in the bed...cuddled up together...we finally have peace in our bed. Excuse the blurry pic-it was taken with my blackberry.

too cute

Yesterday I was walking my students down the hall when one little girl looks up at me and asks this question...

Student: "Mrs. House, was you real skinny when you first worked here?"

Me: "Uh, No. Why?"

Student: "Cuz in that picture back there you look real skinny when you was working here."

Me (curious now): "What picture?"

The student takes me by the hand and walks me over to this picture that is hanging in the hallway...

Yes, that picture is from "The Office" party I held in September. Yes, it hangs proudly in the hallway at school. And Yes, that is my head photoshopped onto Pam's real skinny body along with several other teacher's heads photoshopped onto men's bodies. Ha! :)

My response to the student :"Why, yes. Yes I was" :)

16 Weeks

Bean is now the size of an avocado! He/she just keeps on growing in there! This week I have felt MUCH better. I have been "queasy free" for about 5 days now and my energy is slowly creeping back. Other than some indigestion I feel pretty good.

One Week to Go!!!

Only 1 Week until we find out who Bean is!!! I can't believe that this time next week we'll know if we're having a son or daughter (WOW that's wierd to say!). I am just sooooo excited to be able to plan the nursery and shop, shop, shop! I'm pretty sure we're heading to the mall after our appointment! :)

Votes

Today I had my first-graders vote on what gender they thought Bean is. My kiddos are super excited to find out and have bugged me the past few months about it. They were very tickled to get to vote about it today. The total was 11 votes for girl, 8 votes for boy. I was surprised...I really thought all my girls would vote girl and all my boys would vote boy. But that's not what happened...it was a nice mix!

Evil Genius

Maggie is a very smart dog. She knows a ton of tricks (learned them in a matter of minutes). She understands an astounding amount of "human words". She can sniff out a new or old toy a mile away. But here lately I'm just convinced she's got a lil' bit of a mean streak in her. During the night, Tucker always stakes claim to the bed...always has. Maggie is usually happy to sleep on the rug or her bed. (she doesn't like to be smothered). But since it's been colder I think she's yearning for the bed a lil more. But if she tries to join us, Tucker growls and forbids her. This does not faze our little evil genius. She will wait a few minutes then go scratch on the doggie door to go out. Tucker has NEVER been left out of a chance to go outside. So he will jump right off the bed and join her by the back door as he patiently waits to be let out. Then Maggie will run, run, run back to the bedroom and lunge for the bed...taking her place in Tucker's warm spot. Tucker (not a genius) is absolutely clueless to her antics as he continues to wait at the backdoor to go outside. By the time he gives up, she's happily asleep in his spot and he has to stake claim to another, less desirable place in the bed. :)

Ahh....clean!

My house is clean...really clean. It's the first time in oh, like 6 weeks that it's been "company ready" clean. Travis and I spent most of this weekend working on getting the house back in order, taking down Christmas lights from the outside of the house, and sorting through junk. He's also been working on completing the safe room. Yes, we moved in July and have not finished the safe room yet. He had to add a piece of sheet metal to the door, add deadbolts and latches, etc. So now we are now safe if a tornado comes our way! We can also get it inspected so that we could get some of our money back on it! Yay! He has a few other little projects to get done before Bean arrives. He has to seal the shower, build some shelves in the attic, and revamp our nursery closet. Silly me thought that once we built this house that all our little "weekend projects" would be done! We've been in a state of "weekend project" for about 5 years now. It seems we always have some sort of project going on. Travis just can't sit still for long!

Decisions, decisions!

I am at a point now where I'm stressed to make decisions about the nursery. We find out the gender in a week and I want to get started right away so I'm wanting to have a plan for either one so I know where to start from. I've been researching baby bedding for months...even before we were pregnant. I cannot find anything that I'm extremely happy with. So we're going to have our friend Lori make the bedding custom for us. We just have to find the fabric. Not easily done. I've spent days looking at fabric online...nothing. Yesterday we went to a local store and found several options that we liked. That was a huge relief. We definitely have a direction for the boy room. Not so much for the girl room. I'm torn between two different styles and Travis and I rarely agree on girl fabric. He loves the chocolate brown/pink combo and I'm so over it. I want something different and unique...he wants typical, store bought. Hmmm we'll have to fight that one out if it's a girl. But the good news is, we do agree on our boy's room design.

We have also officially picked out our baby names. We've had our boy name for a very long time but have had difficulty with the girl name. But we've finally agreed on both names & we'll announce those after the appointment when we find out who Bean is! :)

Couch Potatoes

This evening Tucker was my couch companion. He will sit and calmly watch Animal Planet for hours on end. I had left it on in the bedroom the other day while I did things in other rooms. I was shocked to see Tucker sitting on the edge of the bed watching it intensely rather than following me from room to room. It's so funny to see him so interested in tv! He'll watch it as long as it has dogs or cats on it! Tonight we flipped it over their briefly and he was immediately hooked again. Travis snapped a few pics of me and Tuck as he was enthralled in it. Also, check out that preggo belly there...it really has seemed to pop out recently!

15 Weeks

Bean is now the size of an apple! Each week it astounds me how big he/she is! I haven't "officially" felt movement yet. I've felt some subtle sensations which may be baby bean but I'm not sure yet. Only 2 more weeks until we find out if bean is a he or she!

Tied?

I just noticed that our baby gender poll is tied. Seriously??? No help there! That's pretty much how it's been so far...one side of the family thinks boy & the other thinks girl! Everyday my idea changes as well...I guess we'll just have to wait 2 more weeks to find out for sure!

Look what we got!

My parents got us this beautiful glider for the nursery for Christmas from Babies R' Us so Travis and I drove to Little Rock today to pick it up. It barely fit in the Jeep to bring it home...I had called ahead to get the dimensions but was told "we don't have anyway of measuring it". A lot of help I tell ya. It did fit....but we had to take out part of the floorboard to get it in! Maggie & Tucker were super excited to try it out. They fought over who was going to sit in it. They both got to take a turn. It's upholstered in ivory chenille which makes it super comfy and soft. We can't wait to rock our baby bean in it! We ordered the ottoman to match but it won't be in for a few more days and it's being shipped to our house. We all say... Thanks Nana & Pa!

Strange...very strange.

Last night I talked Travis into rubbing some lotion on my tummy...you know to prevent those inevitable stretch marks. When he got to my lower stomach we both paused and said "Whoa". I haven't been paying too much attention to my growing tummy. I'm still in regular clothes, haven't noticed much difference in looks. But to feel it is a different story. Travis just couldn't get over how hard it was...I on the other hand couldn't believe this foreign feeling. It was so strange to feel him rub over something that wasn't there before. It was strange...very strange. I'm in complete awe of it now. How amazing is pregnancy? To know that there is a little lemon sized kiddo rolling around in there.

Other than that, we watched a really rediculously stupid movie last night and I fell asleep at 11:30. I tried really hard to stay awake but just couldn't do it. I did see the ball drop in NYC at 11:00 so I guess that counts for something.

I've been battling this sinus/ear stuff for several days now. I'm predicting this will be an ongoing thing from now on. I've had a serious earache/sinus headache on and off for 3 days so I've been pretty worthless at times. I've not accomplished half of what I wanted to over Christmas break. However, we did spend this evening taking down all our Christmas decorations. I am so relieved to have my house back in order!