What We Have Been Up To

Not a whole lot has happened in the last month, but we did do a few things. I had surgery, went to a baby shower, went to a birthday party, a basketball game, two days of distance learning (due to snow days), a few dinners out, a magic show and a overnight trip to Las Vegas. But I mostly have been healing and recovering from an infection.

I thought I would give a little photo dump of what we have been up to. I do have a post planned showing my healing progress over the last few weeks. That should be coming in a week or so.

Pre-op

Post op

Baby Shower:

The baby shower was catered and it was so good. I was about 9 days post op (in the thick of my infection) so I took it easy and enjoyed the food and sitting. By the end I was so worn out and tired.

We had two days of distance learning which was awful when one person is recovering and working from home. I had to resign the girls in every 40 minutes, help with school work and rest. It was chaos, but we made it through.

A fire truck themed birthday party! With a real fire truck and demo.

The magic show. This show is a magic show combined with a dance show. We really want to take the girls to this. Some of the costumes are a bit risky, but nothing that they wouldn't see at a beach. 

And that is what we have been up to. I can't wait to catch up with you all more.

The Day I was a Princess

On Saturday February 4th, I did a bridal photo shoot. My hair stylist asked me if I wanted to be a part of their salons bridal shoot, and of course I did. About two weeks before, I went to a studio to pick out a dress. They chose one that has never been photographed before. BUT I felt like a million bucks in it.

I went to the location, The Virgil, at 11 am and they got started on my hair. I only had part of my hair done as I was the model for how to on modern Hollywood hair. Then I got my makeup done and had the best catered lunch. Then we hung out for awhile. Then it was time for the hair modeling. My stylist (who was my stylist for 8 years previous to my current one) showed the class how to do the modern hollywood hair. It was sooo pretty. 

Post makeup and middle of my hair process.

After the hour class, we did some touch-ups, finalized my hair and then went upstairs to get in our dresses. There were two models, myself and another girl who was the makeup model. I am not going to lie, I want a vow renewal because of this dress. Ha. But I don't want all the big wedding that goes with it. Just to wear and wow my husband with this dress.

Anyways, we got ready, snapped a few photos of ourselves and then went out to the class.

A class was going on, but everyone was staring at the other model and I along with our two photographers. Everyone was snapping photos and I felt like a princess. 

I had a three hour photoshoot. We shot everywhere from outside, to an old bank vault to the window. I got a few sneak peaks and I couldn't be more excited about getting the rest of the portfolio.

When I get the other photos, I will be sharing them. Even after 10 years, I still felt like a princess. 

One of the photographers took several of my family photos and the other is my best friend, so it was truly a wonderful experience and I felt so comfortable with them. Now to do more of these kinds of shoots.

Have you ever done anything like this?

And I wanted to wish my sister a very Happy Birthday! 

Life Update

Do you ever have those days or weeks where life just seems to be kicking you down again and again? I feel like that has been my life lately. I haven't wanted to write anything new here because I feel like I am having a hard time finding the good in between the bad. Yes, I know there is a lot of good in my life and a lot to be thankful for, but sometimes the bad just stands out more.

I feel like my "gloom" started on Tuesday February 8th when my tire blew apart. Not only was it a scary and sweaty (stuck on the freeway with semis blasting past me) event, but it led to spending hours and hours on the phone every business day. I am talking 4 to 6 hours each day. Between my insurance just to file the claim, to the claims adjuster, to the person who did the quote, to Hertz for a car rental (and subsequent calls to get a bigger and safer car), to Volvo, to Discount Tires and all of those several times each day, I was over being on the phone. 

I still have to deal with a bunch of phone calls to get this process figured out, but they have lessened now that my local insurance agent is helping out a lot more.

Three days after the car issue was February 11th which was the day that I was supposed to be induced if I was still pregnant. I had a hard time with this and it has been building up each week. I have an Instagram friend who got pregnant the same day (she did IVF), so when she posted her updates, it made me think of where I would be. As she got closer to her due date, I knew that mine was approaching too. And then Friday February 11th came and my heart broke again. Sucks. Pregnancy loss is tough. But I am hoping I can heal a bit more now that the due date has come and gone.

Then last week (or this week as I am writing this as it is going on) our water heater/hot water just stalled out. Everything was fine on Monday, but then Tuesday morning I turned on the shower at 5:30 am and when I turned the handle to hot, not much water came out. I then went to the kitchen to see if it worked elsewhere. It worked out there, but was so much less for the hot water. And it was hair washing day. I know you all can sympathize with me on that one. 

So I put my hair up, took a shower in a dribble, got ready and left work. Rory spent the morning trying to drain the water heater to see if it was mineral build up. After the water heater refilled, it was a bit better, but not much. 

I called a plumber later in the day and he thinks it is the intake system on the water heater and not the water heater. So I guess we shall see. But in the meantime, I haven't been able to cook much as I have little hot water, but still some and it is difficult to wash dishes, clean up and not tear my hands up in the cold water.

We have been able to take showers in the master bathroom as it is a shower only and the pressure is a bit better than the guest bathroom with a bath tub/shower combo. Less water comes out on hot as it has to travel more and needs more pressure.

I know that these are all not big deals, but when they keep coming at the same time, they cause a lot of stress and annoyance. 

So this is why I have been lacking in the writing, commenting and blog reading. I am trying. I promise, but my heart and mind are elsewhere. 

Now let's hope for some good news, good days and less stress!

A Little Update

So I had planned to be more active on my blog, on IG (me recording stories chronicling my surgery and recovery) and just in general. And then this surgery kicked my butt. It still is, but thankfully, I am feeling way better this week than last. I did watch so many stories last week. That made me smile and got me through the insane amount of nausea that I experienced. So thank you for all your wonderful stories and daily life updates! And thank you to everyone who reached out to me during this. Your prayers were definitely felt!

Surgery is rough as you get older. I went into this surgery being healthy and as fit as I could be. I worked my butt off to get in the best shape possible for surgery. I knew if I did that, that recovery would be easier and my results would last. BUT god had other plans for me. This recovery has been tough. 

I have my post-op on Thursday, so we will see what really went down inside my belly, how I am recovering from a physical standpoint (I had a bit of a scare on Friday) and what I can do to continue to recover.

I have a post coming tomorrow that is more of a weekly update. I am doing this for others who seek information on diastasis recti and hernia repair, as a diary of events for me to look back on (I looked back on my past hernia surgeries for how I did in recovery) and for you all to see what it is really like.

Stay tuned!

The World As It Stands Right Now

I was going to put out a Father's Day gift guide today, but with everything going on in our world right now, I just didn't feel right doing it. I know some people want to read something more positive than what is going on right now, but I just think it is best to wait. I have been reading blogs, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter the last few days and I just am so saddened by it all. And I haven't posted anything on any platform other than today.

Saturday, here in Reno, there was a Black Lives Matter protest which then turned violent. That has been happening all over America and I am at a loss of words. I think everyone has a right to protest, speak how they feel and make a stand, but I don't condone what some are doing after the protests or during the protests. It completely takes away from the actual protest. Let the protesters protest and let them be heard. And the assholes who are destroying cities after the protests are criminals who are taking away from the protest itself. Most of the people protesting are NOT the ones destroying our cities. They are extremists, anarchist groups, etc. 

My city damaged and we live pretty close to where everything was going down. We were scared that they were going to come out to the suburbs and continue their destruction. It was scary.

I am scared, sad, upset, angry and all around at a loss for words on how I feel about this situation. Just because I haven't posted about it, doesn't mean that it hasn't been on my mind non-stop. I just want this world to be a better place than it is right now. I want my kids to be safe. I want to feel safe sending them back to school and going out in public. I want to spread kindness.

Our Preschool Aged Bedtime Routine

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Last week, Lynn (from Disposition Motion, I love her, go check her out.) wrote out her child's bedtime routine. I read it and nodded my head to a lot of the things that she does just like I do with my girls. But it also made me think that I should share my girls bedtime routine. I know a lot of mama's out there who struggle with bedtime routines and getting their kids to go to sleep. So maybe sharing our way will help someone out. Isn't that what blogging is all about?

So this is a glimpse into two little four year olds evening and bedtime routine.

Dinner/After School

We usually get home from work and pre-school around 5:15 pm. After changing into more comfortable clothes (or princess dresses for the girls), I will start dinner. We usually eat between 5:30 and 6:30 depending on the day and the dish that I make. The girls usually play, read, or help their dad build a fire.

After Dinner

After dinner, I will clean up the kitchen and the girls will start a puzzle if it isn't bath night or they will get ready for their baths if it is. If is bath night (every other night), then we start baths around 6:30 or 7 pm. We try to let the girls bellies settle a bit before bath.

The girls will go to the bathroom before they get into the bath. And then I give the girls their bath which now consists of toys, body wash, shampoo and conditioner (conditioner every other time). They usually are in the bath for around 15 to 20 minutes. Then I get them out and Rory gets them dried off, dressed and their hair brushed. I clean up the bathroom and then get their tooth brushes ready. Once they are dressed, they brush their teeth, grab their blankets and then we go snuggle on the couch for a bit.

Bedtime

At 7:30 pm, we head into their room. They each pick out a book or two and then climb into their beds. They just sit on their beds and I sit on the floor and read to them. Once reading is done, we plug in their night light that projects the sun, ocean or solar system onto the ceiling and then turn on their time to wake clock. Lastly, we turn on the color portion of their diffuser (I use the diffuser portion when they are sick with essential oils). While turning everything on, we turn off the lights. We tuck the girls into bed with their babies and a chosen stuffed animal and sometimes one of their books we just read. Then we give each girl kisses and hugs and they tell us what they are going to dream about. Then we will sometimes cover their faces with their "tiny blankets". Finally, Rory leaves and I tell them goodnight, I love you, sweet dreams and see you when you wake up. The girls respond to each thing I say and then I leave the room closing their door so there is a 4 inch gap.

Now I should note that this works pretty much every night, but occasionally, the girls will get fussy, want their eyes covered again, say they are too hot, want their noses wiped or another excuse. Last week, we had one of those nights where we went into their rooms 8 times between 7:50 and 8:30. But that happens very rarely. Usually they are asleep within 10 minutes. They sometimes talk to each other, read their books or just sit there looking at their night light projection.

What is your bedtime routine for your kids?

Cutting the Cable

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Have you cut the cable? We did at the beginning of the year and it has been the best decision.

image via

It all started off with our Direct TV bill going up $56 in one month to bring our cable/internet total to $227 and that didn't include our $9 Netflix subscription. Ouch. I was fed up with the price and our service was just plain awful. Half the time, we couldn't get to our DVR'd items and had to search for them to watch them On Demand. And the other half of the time, the feed was just bad. So I made the decision to cut the cable.

So how did we do it? Well first, I asked my co-workers what they were using to watch tv. The overwhelming response was either Apple TV or Roku paired with Hulu Live TV and Netflix plus Amazon Prime (if you have it). I also did my own research and found the same to be true. So the first step was to buy two different Roku's. I bought one for my tv in the living room which is 4K and our main hub area and the other one was for our kitchen which is just a basic flat screen tv.

The next step was to get a better internet. If you want to cut the cable, you need a great quality internet and we had awful internet. So I went online, set up an install of the new internet and waited 2 days for that to be installed. On the install day, they hooked up our new internet, I hooked up the new Roku devices (super easy) and purchased Hulu Live TV. Now Hulu Live TV is $39 per month and you get all of your local channels (like local news broadcasts), NBC, ABC, FOX, CBS, plus about 50 other channels. Before purchasing, I checked what shows I watch were available. Everything except the shows on HBO and AMC (which still might be available once the show starts) were available. You can purchase HBO or other channels through your Roku or Hulu. I also added on the $14 package where I can fast forward through commercials and have 200 hours of DVR service.

Once that was all set up, I called Direct TV to cancel my service. I told them it was my New Year's Resolution to watch less tv and that I wanted to cancel it. I made sure I wasn't in contract anymore and I was firm. You have to stand firm and not back down. They will try to keep you by doing almost anything. Once I got past the initial talk with them, we cancelled my service and they gave directions on how to return my boxes, router, etc. I was told to take them to my local UPS store along with my account number and UPS would send them back. They will give you a paper with your cancellation confirmation and your shipping info. You need to keep that. Once everything is shipped back and it has been received, you should call Direct TV or whoever is your cable provider and make sure it is fully cancelled. They will try to get you to come back once more, but just deny them.

So I have had my service for about 3 weeks now (I started the process right after Christmas) and I love it. Sure, it was a learning curve to figure out the Hulu interface, but now I have all my shows in the My Stuff tab, I can search for things easily and I also have Prime and Netflix. I can get everything I had before and I pay $100 total per month. That is a savings of $127 per month. Way better. And if I am not watching as much tv, I can downgrade my Hulu, get rid of any channels I am not currently watching and just simplify.

So have you cut the cable? I also got my in-laws to cut their cable at the same time. They already had Apple TV, so they are using that, but have Hulu Live, Netflix and Prime. They are just as happy as we are.

Any questions?

Fall Bucket List Update and a Winter Bucket List

I thought I would give you all an update on our Fall Bucket List and share our Winter Bucket List today. I really thought we would have more items checked off our list, but life got in the way (big time) and we didn't do as much as I would have liked. Oh well, there is always next year. So how did we do?

10 out of 14. So we basically added three more items since I gave you our last update. We were supposed to have family photos on Sunday, but it didn't work out. We changed it to this Sunday and if that doesn't work out, then I don't think we will have a new family photo this year.

TRICK OR TREATING

On Halloween, we took the girls Trick or Treating and had a blast. We were out for over three hours and the girls loved every second of it...including eating candy along the way.

CARVE PUMPKINS

The week of Halloween, we finally carved our pumpkins. We didn't buy any stencils this year and just free handed it. I mainly just wanted to have the girls included and spending time cutting out something hard wouldn't have been as fun for the girls. So we cut off the tops, they helped scoop all the pumpkin guts out and then Rory and I did some simple carvings. The girls helped bring the pumpkins outside and we lit candles in them pretty much the rest of the week. Next year, we will let the girls carve their own pumpkins (with our help).

WATCH HOCUS POCUS

I don't know why it took us so long to watch Hocus Pocus this year, but I finally did the week of Halloween. We had mainly been watching the Nightmare Before Christmas which the girls can't get enough of. They are still asking to watch it. Luckily, it transitions to a Christmas movie pretty easily. I wanted to introduce Hocus Pocus to the girls, but when I saw the rating for it, I thought I might want to wait another year or so. So I watched it instead. I love the movie and couldn't help but watch it.

So I would say we were pretty successful on our Fall Bucket Lists. Now onto our Winter Bucket List.

On another note, we have our monthly Girl Chat link up tomorrow. Don't forget to link up.

Fall Family Photo Outfits

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We have our family photos coming up...late, I know. But we have an amazing photographer lined up (she is one of my best friends) and I couldn't be more excited. Plus we are going out in the desert to take these photos. I have been putting together inspirations for about two months now and I finally have it down. So what are we wearing?

Girls Dress  |  Girls Shoes  |  Women's Black Top  |  Women's Flowy Skirt  |  Men's Cashmere Sweater

While we got Rory a new sweater, he is using jeans, a button up and black shoes from his closet. I hope the photos look cohesive and beautiful. I can't wait to share our holiday cards with you all.

Fall Bucket List Update

It is time to check in on how we are doing with our Fall Bucket List. Especially since I wrote this almost exactly a month ago. Tomorrow is our Girl Chat link up and I wrote our Fall Bucket List for last month's Girl Chat. So how are we doing?

Apple Hill - We went to Apple Hill last weekend!

Attend Football Game and Tailgate - As of today, I have been to three football games and tailgates this season.

Go to a Pumpkin Patch - We went to Ferrari Farms two weekends ago and then a pumpkin patch while we were at Apple Hill.

Attend a Fall Festival - Ferrari Farms is a Fall Festival and we went two weekends ago.

Decorate for Fall - I went to Hobby Lobby a couple weekends ago and I bought a bunch of new Fall decor and then came home and promptly decorated. I also brought out our Fall and Halloween decor that we already had.

Eat an Apple Cider Donut - We checked that off this weekend at Apple Hill. They are simply the best there.

Eat Caramel Apples - I have been eating them as a treat at the football games.

We still have seven items left on our list and I know we have a few of those items being checked off in the coming weeks!!!

How are you doing on your Fall Bucket List?

My Fears and Worst Habits

A couple weeks ago, Kait blogged about her biggest fears and her worst habits. She said she did this blogging challenge as a way to spice up her blogging as she was feeling uninspired. I hear you friend. So I thought I would share with you some of my fears and my worst habits. Enjoy. Hopefully I don't scare you off.

FEARS

Sharks. I am sooooo afraid of sharks. I have dreams about them and being eaten by them. But I definitely fear my fear when I watch Shark Week or shark attack videos. Yep, I mentioned it awhile ago, but I have a fascination with shark attack videos. They are such powerful creatures that I want to know everything about them.

Dying alone. I always get so choked up when I learn that someone has physically died alone. I would hate to take my last breath and know that no one was around me when I went. I want to see my loved ones faces before I go. I feel like I would feel more at peace that way.

My dog dying. I can't even type that out without tearing up. I love Walter so much. He is our little companion and my heart. He is my first "child" and I can't imagine life without him. When my childhood cat passed away (at 19 years), I had the hardest time. I went to my parents house to say goodbye to him just in case they needed to put him down (he was having trouble going to the bathroom, sitting and losing weight) and when my mom left to go to the vet, I cried in their driveway. I was laying in their driveway until my mom came back with his body.

I was so sad that she didn't let me go with her, but she said she wanted me to have happy memories of him and not see him like that. I get that now, but not then.

I just fear the day when my pup goes.

Losing my family. Enough said.

Flying. This one may seem weird since I fly all the time, but I get a little stomach twist, close my eyes and say a little prayer every time I fly. I just read too many stories and that fuels my fear.

Burglary/Home invasion. Our house was burglarized in 2011. I know I have wrote about this before on my blog, but if you are new or forgot, I will summarize it. It was a Monday morning and I had a bad feeling while I got ready in the morning, but I brushed it off and went on with my day. One thing that stands out to me was thinking I should hide my laptop.

Anyways, we went to work and came home and Rory went over to our neighbors house for something, so I went to the back of our house to go through another door (our front door swells and is hard to get open sometimes). This was normal for us. When I went in backyard, a few of our boards to our fence were missing between my neighbors house and ours. I didn't think much of it, but when I rounded the corner, I saw marks all over the back door. Like a crowbar tried to open it. Then I saw our bathroom window on the ground. And then I knew. I didn't even think and I unlocked the door and ran inside.

Our house was thrashed. They went through our garage, our kitchen, our living room, bedrooms, etc. They took so many things from our house. So many valuable things. It breaks my heart thinking about it. I ran out to Rory told him to come in and started to process it all. We called the police but it took them 4 hours to come over since no one was in the house. Ugh.

And then we started the process of filling out police reports, calling our homeowners insurance, etc. I hope no one ever goes through this.

So I definitely fear something like that happening again or even worse when we are home.

WORST HABITS

I bite/chew on my nails. I am definitely getting better about it, but when I get nervous or bored, I tend to bite or chew on my nails.

I am neurotic about cleaning. I took this one from Kait since I am definitely overly neurotic about cleaning. I need a clean house. I like a clean house and it probably drives my family crazy with how often I clean.

I am a worrier. I worry about everything. It is something that I constantly try to work on, but I worry. I worry about the what-ifs more than anything. I know this is dumb because most of the time those what-ifs never happen or they are so far fetched that they NEVER happen.

I am judgy. I hate being judgmental, but I often find I judge way more than I should. I hate admitting that I am judgy. Ha.

Over researching. When it comes to life, I research and google the shit out of everything. Case in point, before my septorhinoplasty, I googled what to expect, recovery, the actual procedure (even watched some Youtube videos) and real life accounts of it. I over research until I am either scared, satisfied or figured it out.

I am sure I have way more bad habits and fears, but these are the ones that came to mind right away.

Sorry

Sorry for my absence the last couple days, but we were out of town celebrating Rory's aunts life. While it was a very sad time, I was moved by how many people loved and cared for her. I hope that my life has an impact just like hers did.

But anyways, I am just dropping in to remind everyone that tomorrow is our Girl Chat link up and the topic is Summer Recipes. I can't wait to read everyone's recommendations, so I can change things up at our house for dinner time.