Maternity Photos - 37 weeks

I finally took my maternity photos. 

I'm at the end of the road so I am glad I got them out of the way so I can have this baby.

I would have like to have had Emma and Mike in my photos also but I have to say, I think I made the right choice with them not. Things would have been so crazy and we probably wouldn't have been to take as many. 

Taken at 37 weeks.

I'm sorry, but I am picking my favorite....and that just happens to about 15

(I am still not sure why I picked the color pink to wear...when I am having a BOY???) 

There ya have it. 

Comeon Baby! 

Room Tours

Who doesn't love to see into other peoples houses?

I know I am nosey and love when people open up their living quarters so I can check it all out. 

So, here are the kids rooms as of now. 

Ill start with lil mans room just because its totally new. 

It used to be our guest bedroom.

Mike has been really excited that little one is a boy ever since we found out. Of course when I asked him about his opinion on the new room, there was no hesitation on a sports theme. I probably would have went with a outdoors, nature, wild animal theme, but I didn't want to burst his bubble. He also had the idea to do gray and red colors. If you guessed it.... The Ohio State University colors are gray and red....yea. OSU football is that big in our house. 

 Thanks to Pintrest, most of these ideas are from there. 

 I made every decoration in his room. 

For me, buying something on Etsy that cost $40 or more, plus shipping doesn't always sit well with my "stay at home mom" pocket. 

 I would estimate that all the decorations on the walls and shelves cost me about $40 altogether.

 I'm still not loving this corner. It has that built-in that I just don't know how to work around. As of now, it will just continue being something that I put random stuff on.  

On to the little girls room. 

 I would love to change Emma's room. Her first room was butterfly theme with lots of yellow. When we moved, I really wanted to do a mermaid, under the sea type room but that didn't happen, so I used a lot of her old room decor.  Now she actually has a say in the way her room is and let me tell you... it is all princesses or the color blue. There hasn't been a ton of progress except for her bed with that new request.

 Besides my Beanie Baby collection, I also grew up collecting Breyer horses. It is my absolute favorite animal and because I could never actually have one, I settled for collecting models. I usually got one for Christmas or my birthday. I looked forward to it each year...give or take a few years. I love them so much and am excited to continue it with Emma. She likes to point them and say "neigh". She also has received her first two. The two on the bottom right are hers. 

I am so thankful to my mother for saving all of my childhood books. Some of these books have a date from 1950s... pretty funny, but classics! 

So there ya have it. 

A little look into my kids spaces. 

They will probably slowly change the next two years that we are in this home, but as of now this is how they stay.  

The Name

Naming a human is HARD!

I'm not sure if I ever went into where we got Emma's name...so just a little back story on that. 

We were really having trouble naming her. I think we didn't even know in till a hour before she was born.  I associate people's names a little too much with the person that they are. 

Believe it or not, I did not no any Emma's....even with it being in the top 5 since 2002 (thanks to Ross and Rachel's baby on Friends) . I know she will probably have 12 Emma's in her class once she hits school, like I did when I went to school (katie was very popular too) but that didn't really matter to me. 

We were also looking into the origin a little. 

Mike is Italian and German and I am pretty much fully German with a tiny touch of Irish. 

With her being born in Hawaii, we also wanted a little touch of that also. 

So we ended up picking Emma, not just because we thought that name was sweet and simple but also because it is German and because there was a queen in Hawaii named Queen Emma. 

There are statues, street names, hospitals and castles named after her around the island.   

Looking back at it now, I don't think any other name would fit her as well as Emma fits her. 

Her middle name was pretty much a no brainier. Mikes beautiful mama was named Michele. I know she would have been such a wonderful grandma so it was only fitting to give Emma the special memory of the angle looking down on her. 

This little boys name was suppose to be a lot easier. 

 If baby # 2 was a boy, it was always going to be Michael. 

When we found out it actually was a boy, Mike had second thoughts. So we were off to struggle thinking of one again. 

Once again the origin came into play.

 Mike came up with Charlie. 

There are a couple reasons why. 

First Reason- There are 4 "names" in the military alphabet. One of them being Charlie.

Second Reason- Mike was in Charlie Company twice. 

Third Reason- We live in the Capital of West Virginia which is Charleston where he will be born. 

Fourth Reason- Mike had a best friend growing up that had tragically passed away. We are still close with his family.

Fifth Reason- It is derived from a Germanic word.

Sixth Reason- It means 'warrior" and who doesn't love that? 

With all that, we have decided to name him Charles David. 

David being named after my father. 

It feels good to have the name ready and not have to think about that any longer. 

I also feel like the names, Emma and Charlie go well together. One isn't too simple or complex from the other.  

They both are traditional and common. 

So there ya have it. 

Everyone has a opinion on a baby's name. I learned my lesson when trying to think of names for Emma (before we came up with Emma) that people will trash names you like so quickly. I was going to keep baby #2 name a secret because of this reason but I really don't care anymore if someone doesn't like it. 

My baby...not yours :) 

Just to have this written if I ever forget. We did have alternate names for both kids. 

I really liked the name Maci when I was pregnant with Emma. 

That was shot down quite a few times from a couple people. With our last name starting with a M, and her middle name was a M, people didn't like the MMM. I also got the Macy's department store thing a lot.  If she was a boy it probably would have been Michael David. 

If baby # 2 was a girl, we both really liked the name Tess or Tessa. We never got far enough to come up with a middle name. 

Peek a boo

I did a elective ultrasound with this pregnancy like I did with Emma's. Emma's ultrasound was at 33 weeks and didn't really go so well. I had to go back twice because she was not cooperating with having her pictures taken.  

This little boy was no different.  

There is only one place semi close (hour away) to my house that does it. Mike hadn't heard the heart beat of this little boy yet so he was able to leave work early and come with me. We got there and spent a good while trying to get some good pictures of him but he was just not having it. His hands were just not moving from his face know matter what we tried. 

I know that these ultrasounds have the best results around 28-30 weeks. I was at 34. 

They rescheduled a appointment for me so we could try again. It is so nice that they give you that option to do that. 

At 34 weeks and 6 days I had my second appointment. I was expecting the same results just because I was so far along and he doesn't have much room in there. 

It was to my surprise that we got some pretty good face shots this time. 

I was also surprised when I went to look at the CD that the place gave us that I had 86 photos of the little guy. She also (on the down low) measured him and told me he weighs a little over 5 lbs.

It is so amazing what technology can do. 

I am now at 36 weeks and 4 days...coming down to the wire.

Besides this one, I haven't taken a updated belly photo yet, so I will have to do that soon. I also have a maternity shoot coming up and then I will pretty much be ready for this baby to come. 

It is crazy to think that in just one week from now will be the time that I had Emma. 

She was right at 38 weeks.

I am still a little up in the air with who will be watching Emma while I have her brother. I have a good friend that would love to watch her but she will be on vacation in till the a week before his due date. I have another friend that Em could stay with for a couple hours but she is on vacation in till his actual due date. Soooo...I really have to get on what we are going to with her for a couple hours. I guess there is always my neighbor but that would be my last option. 

I still have been feeling really really big and uncomfortable. This past week I have started to get the feeling of charlie horses coming on. I have only really had one during the night with this pregnancy but I get the feeling a couple time through the day. 

I had my Group B test at my last appointment. I was positive with Emma's pregnancy so I am expecting the same results. She also checked me and I was just 1 cm dialed but she said I was thinning out. 

I need to register to the hospital still that I am going to decided to go to. I am still up in the air with that one. My doctors office is at newer hospital that seems a lot more up to date and "cleaner" but doesn't have a NICU. I would really like to deliver there but the other hospital is closer to my house and has a NICU. I feel like it is stupid not to deliver there God forbid something happens. I will have to stop going back and forth and pick one. 

Other then all that, I am ready to have this little guy already. My uncomfortable level is pretty sky high. I know it would be better if he would marinate a little longer but I wish I could just speed up the weeks and it be August already.  

Amusement Park Time

Emma and I went to her first amusement park recently with some friends. She really wasn't loving it in the beginning. It took her about an hour to warm up to all the rides. 

This was her very first ride and this was the face the whole time. 

Camden Park is a really old amusement park. It almost looks like a traveling fair type place but it doesn't move. It has only one roller coaster and a couple of rides. There is only one place to get a hot dog, one place for funnel cakes, one place for lemonade and one place for ice cream. That's it...so really small. 

Being hugely pregnant I wasn't able to go on a lot of the rides. The bar that comes down to lock you in to the rides just don't fit, so we had to sit out on quite a few things. I also got a little nervous about her getting sick. She gets terrible car sickness, and all of these rides are circle rides. 

Her absolute favorite was the merry go round. 

We went on that one 4 times. 

The train ride was also a big hit with her. And I didn't mind because I could sit down for a minute. 

OK, so who has seen this before. It was a first for me. Paying to go to the bathroom?

Puppy Love

Loosing Bolo in April was and has been hard. I felt like I needed something but wasn't really ready to start with a new fur baby yet. Having a pet in our family has been a trying sometimes. I have never boarded any of my dogs before so whenever we travel we are always thinking, who is going to be able to stay at our home to watch them, or is it a pet friendly place so we can bring them along. This is something that I know we will have to get over with our next dog. We need to have vacations! Bolo also took a huge toll on our finances the last 2 years of his life. Not that I would not have payed it or double if need be, but bringing another dog into our life at the moment (plus a new baby on the way) I don't think would be the best. 

I say this now.......

I started volunteering at the animal shelter in my town. 

Not really "volunteering" in my eyes. Maybe down the road I will actually be able to spend a few hours there and really help out with the run of the place, but as of now I am doing it for my love of puppies and hopefully brighten the day for dog. 

I go in the morning and sign out a dog for the day. I can take them wherever I would like as long as I am back a hour before closing. 

I have a special place in my heart for older dogs, especially when they are in a shelter. They have such a hard time getting adopted because of their age. Especially when they are in the "puppy room" because they are a a smaller breed. I also have a love for Beagles. My very first dog was a Beagle and was the best thing that had ever happened to me. 

When I went for my "walk through" at the shelter before a was a real volunteer, I saw this guy in a small cage in the puppy room wagging his tail like crazy. 

I knew I would be coming back for him for some one on one. 

Justin is a 7 year old Beagle that was a stray. 

I took him out and we went to the park for a hike. Then we walked around a pond. After getting sweaty we went home and I gave him a bath and alot a few of treats. He had a chance to relax a little without a ton of barking at all times which I think he needed. We had him for 6 hours and within those 6 hours I fell in love.
He was amazing with Emma! 

He is such a sweet dog. He truly had such a connection with Mike. Very loving and just wanted to be a part of the family. It was pretty difficult for me to take him back. I am heading back to the shelter to do this all again tomorrow.
Going into the kennels are pretty scary. There are a ton of dogs barking their heads off at you as you walk threw. I know these dogs are way different once they are outside of their cages, but when I have Emma's safety that comes first I have to make smart decisions who I take out for the day.

I have been back a couple more times to take a pup out for the day...and each and every time I have come back to Justin.

(his lip is stuck)

I told Mike that when we get home from fixing our house in Ohio, and Justin is still there we are going to make him part of our family and give him a forever home.

I was so upset when I found out he had been adopted when we got home. Its more like I am so happy for him...but I am being selfish because I wanted him. I just have to keep telling myself that it was just not meant to be. I hope he went to a loving home and they are going to make his senior days happy.
I will continue to go to the shelter and try to give joy to another dog for the day. 

P.I.G.S

Over the 4th of July week, we went home to Ohio. We have a rental property there that we bought in 2010 and the tenants were moving out so we wanted to see the home and make any repairs that we needed to. 

This home was suppose to be the home we lived and started a family in. It was never suppose to be a rental property, but due to buying the house in January of 2010 and Mike deciding to join the Marine's in April 2010, we didn't live in it to long. It is on a really quite street that doesn't have a big turnover on neighbors. Everyone is older, quiet and have lived there forever. 

This house was a flipped house when we bought it. It is an older house, but everything was new so it was nice that it was turn key. I love this house. It is a perfect starter home.

Wanting to be smart about being landlords, we hired a property management company to help us with making sure everything runs smoothly. Living in Hawaii it was just impossible to be available to tenants.  

Our first renter was a single older guy. He had two cats. He payed his rent on time and lived there for two years. When he moved out, my sister, brother-in-law and mother helped us by going over there and making any repairs that needed to happen because the management company charges 4x more to do repairs then if you do them yourself. Mom said it smelled like cat pee so the carpets were professionally cleaned twice...mind you when he moved in the carpet was only 7 months old.  Mom also said it was pretty dirty (being a single male) and my brother-in-law and sister made some pretty significant repairs. A couple was the tenants responsibility but others were ours, like a hot water tank and new paint. I'm cant really remember the dollar amount that the repairs ended up being but it felt pretty normal. 

This go around with the new tenants were a different story. So, the first tenant (single male) moved out in the beginning of winter. That time is the WORST time to put your home up for rent or sale. We were worried. It is hard to pay mortgage and rent and all of our other bills on one paycheck. 

The management company let us know that they had a 3 young guys that wanted to sign a 18 month lease. They all had jobs but only one actually had credit...it was good though. So, we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best. 

After about 8 months of them living in the home and paying rent on time, the management company contacted us and told us that the guys got in a big fight and one moved out (the one with the good credit) but the two others were going to still be making the full rent payments.
After he moved out everything went down hill. 

They never payed the full rent amount and were always late. They didn't like to answer or return phone calls from the management company. Our option was to evict them, or take the partial payments from them and receive a lump sum of what they owe at the end of their lease. We decided to do the lump sum. Eviction sometimes takes months, so once again we would be paying a rent and mortgage and we were in the process of moving from Hawaii to West Virginia so it wasn't a good time.  

Well...here we are. Their lease was up at the end of June and these boys owe us a lot of money in back rent.

Mike took leave for us to go home to see family, friends and take care for whatever needed to be done at the house to get it rented again. 

To our surprise...or maybe we shouldn't have been so naive, we pulled up to our loving home that had been completely destroyed. 

We were at a loss for words. 

The grass was 3 feet high.

Our front railing was missing. 

Cigarette butts everywhere. 

The houses siding had been hit by a car.

It looked like a homeless house. :( 

Let me just show a couple photos to back up my words.

This was just half of the trash in the garage.
Mind you..the bill for garbage pickup (mattresses. trash. furniture. old food) was $375

Smells like a bar and a kennel.

Burn marks...not fixable, only replaceable.

I had fun walking around the yard picking up cigarette butts. Beer bottles even on the roof.
I bought that plant pot  :(

Door was kicked in.

Never changing the air filter. I hope they had fun breathing this in.

Imagine this amount of dust on every baseboard, carpet, window sill and counter top.

 Florescent light from the basement broken across a tree.

More nastiness.

Holes in bathroom tile.

Two bedroom doors both with huge holes punched threw, one with knife holes also.
Basement ceiling that covered plumbing had holes punched threw.
Over 20 light bulbs had to be replaced.
Broken cement.
4 broken windows.
Broken screen.
Toilets that have never been cleaned.
Broken railing.
Dirty oven, fridge, every kitchen cabinet and draw.
Did I mention the grass was 3 feet high!

I was just so embarrassed.
Embarrassed for my neighborhood.
A few of the neighbors came over and told us it was the party house.
They called the police a couple times but that didn't help.

I apologized immensely.

I am just really pissed...and I don't really no who to be mad at.
These stupid pigs that lived in our home or the property management company that we pay every month to do nothing. They are suppose to be keeping our house nice.
What are we paying for then???

The cost that the property management came up with that the tenants owe us is over $3,000 ( not including back rent)
Of course as a property owner we have to pay for things also...ex.paint, tree trimming.
So we spent every waking hour cleaning and fixing our home.
We stayed up past 2 am trying to get things back to being right. We have cuts and bruises.

It took 8 days from sun up to sun down to fix what was done to our home that we loved.
And it still wasn't all finished.
The front railing was not completed.

This home might look small from the outside but it is surprisingly really open. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, walk in closets, huge basement with a bar, crazy amount of storage...if anyone wants to rent it let me know...lol

New shower tile

I cant believe how much there was to do.
I never want to see a can of paint ever again.
Blood, sweat and tears were definitely shed this past week.

Just for fun, this is what our home looked like 7 yeas ago when we lived in it.

I know no one is going to love my home like I do. I just hope this time around we get a normal person that respects the home at least.
Also, all of my surrounding neighbors have my number and I expect them to use it if there are any problems.

Wish us luck with collections.
Back rent $ and damage $ we are coming for.
These pigs have not seen the last of us.
They deserve to get consequences for the way they treat others property.