Construction Zone!

The house is still under construction =)  Texturing is next! We have about a week or two until the basement will be finished and we can clear out the the clutter!  YAHOO!  I think I am more excited to hang clothes in the closet than I am to clear out the clutter.....

Chad is out shooting blackbirds (or crows...some type of black bird) right now with Travis.  We spent the morning getting our closet cleared out and Chad went grocery shopping again (bless his heart). 

The backyard will soon be taken care of.  Our landscaper's dirt guy broke his leg! So we are waiting for him to heal up and then we will be back on track!  We have no problem waiting for this guy because they came in with a mid range bid and were so personable and just so easy to work with!  He asked what we wanted, gave us some suggestions, and TOGETHER came up with a plan. 

Now, to get started on those deck plans.......I suppose if it hadn't been raining all weekend we would have been able to go out and stake it out....hopefully tomorrow night Chad will get off at a decent time and we will be able to do it then! 

Chad cut down the big apple tree in the back the other weekend.....here's a during and after lol, somewhere I have a before..maybe I'll find it before I hit Publish =)

          Before/ May 2011                                       During the cut down

  After the cut down! The other little tree is still there--just not in the camera view =)

Here are a few pictures of the basement in it's current state:

Bathroom has new glass blocks, a full tub/shower, and a closet now!  Before it was just a shower and no closet....and the new glass block window lets in SO much light!! It's nice to have two windows!

Spare room.  The closet got moved to the other side of the room and the window looks amazing with the drywall wrapped!  We did not replace the glass blocks in the bedroom, we had that opening cemented in because we had water issues pre-flood with that window well =)

This is the laundry room....out that door is the family room, next to where I was taking the picture from is the smaller storage room with the sump pump, and below is the other side of the laundry room.  We aren't rocking that wall until we get the plumbing moved and all fixed up so that the washer and dryer can be moved to the furnace room wall =)

 And lastly, this is the family room with new glass block windows and the stairs to go upstairs!

All of our tile and carpet is in and I think the trim also, so, construction should be finishing up in the next week or so!  The only things left will be to repaint our bedroom and to paint the nursery, trim work in the nursery, our room,  I think one wall in the dining room and one wall in the kitchen!  So ALL construction will be complete before baby Hoff arrives....THANK GOODNESS!

To see any pictures from preflood to now just go to the archives =) April 2011-the present you can see photos from when we first bought the house, through the flooding, cleanup and rebuilding. 

16 weeks--we've got an avocado!

According to The Bump baby Hoff is the size of an avocado this week! (which reminds me of my friend Brittany...b/c she's been downing avocado's the last few weeks to help get her magnesium levels up!)  The Bump says that baby is about 4.6 inches long and weighs about 3.5 ounces. We have another appointment next week (May 7) and I am so excited for it.  We will be seeing our OB's husband as she just had her baby earlier this week! 

I've been feeling the little flutters off and on the last few weeks--I'm chalking it up to the fact that he's got very little room in there!  

No, we don't know the gender, but I have a feeling it's a boy--and I've had that feeling the past three months!  Could I be wrong? Yes and I probably am!  I did have a dream this past week--2 actually-- that baby Hoff was a girl, so who knows!  

Yes, I know this is Life with the Hoff's but Chad doesn't do much but work and won't write anything on here so, you get stuck with Life with Brittney--Teaching, Pregnancy, Sadie, and Chad (maybe not in that order, but generally that's how my day goes haha).  I've gotten feedback from some that I don't post about Chad enough and that this blog is supposed to be about both of us--but he doesn't like to post or offer input--so you'll just have to deal =)  

Anyhow!  Emily over at Playground Duty does this weekly check in on her blog, so I think I'm going to do that for the weeks that I remember to post about it!

How far along? 16 weeks
Total weight gain: I've been fluctuating every day a good 2-3 pounds, but I think so far 5!
Maternity clothes? Nope, not yet. However my shirts are getting snugger and shorter and my pants are being kept shut with the good old rubber band trick! I'm hoping to make it to the end of the school year without having to buy too many dress clothes--because I know I'll need more next year. 
Stretch marks? nope
Sleep: Ive been getting 8 hours or so a night but wake up feeling like I haven't slept for days....
Best moment this week: I had a full day of not feeling like poo!
Miss Anything? Feeling good and not nauseous all the time.
Movement: I've been feeling small flutters once or twice a day as long as I sit really still or am laying on the couch.
Food cravings: chips--I told Chad we needed to start buying the baked kind for the amount of chips I consume every week! Other than that it's been fries and fruit lately!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Raw meat has been bothering me lately.
Gender: Team Green for now! Who knows, maybe I can talk Chad into staying Team Green until October!!!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: tired, nauseous, hungry.....
Belly Button in or out? in...but it wasn't too deep to begin with so it's starting to come out!
Wedding rings on or off? On! However, I need to get them cleaned because I've been getting a small rash when I wear them! They are dirty!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy AND Moody.
Looking forward to: Our appt next week!

Here are a few pictures for you--from the beginning of last week and today!

I used Pic Monkey to edit my pictures this week due to Picnik closing down and moving it's stuff over to Google+ 

It was so user friendly--easier than Picnik and I thought it had some nicer features! The only thing it's missing right now is the collage feature--but I think there is another site I can go to for that feature! =) 

Have a great week!

weekend recap

Chad's parents were up for the weekend and helped out in and out of the house.  Chad and his dad finished cutting up the tree he cut down the weekend before and Chad's mom went to town on the inside of the house--I was thrown into what I like to call the supervisor role....since I didn't get to do much.  The house is a little more put together now, BIG THANKS!

Today we ran to Walmart and the store quickly to get a few things I needed for school this week--I love my plants unit =)

I've spent the last two hours researching carseats and strollers....my head officially hurts.  I never realized there were THAT many different types and brands!  OYE!  Chad's theory "whatever you want as long as it's not a million dollars."  So, I've narrowed it down to two and have been looking at consumer reports and Amazon reviews....pros and cons about both of them...great.

Chad's been sitting in his chair trying really hard not to fall asleep =)  and watching the Nascar race.  He said he worked hard yesterday, so he was having a day of relaxation....okay buddy.

I'll get a new picture up soon.  I can suck in my tummy, but just letting it fall out is way easier =)  It's probably not big to the normal eyes, but it's growing in my eyes!

Happy Sunday!

a.m. vs p.m.

Although the ticker I have tells me I was 13 weeks 5 days along, I was measuring ahead by 3 days at the last appointment (so apparently that would put me at 14 weeks 1 day?) 

It's not as prominent in these photos as it has been....so that must mean the evening bloat is turning into baby haha.  Anyhow, here's a quick comparison for you to laugh at =)

 

 While it might not be much difference now, I definitely have a rounder tummy than I'm used to...even in the a.m.  

Next appointment is in about 3 weeks and we get to have my OB's husband as she should be having her baby any time now!  I should be just over the 17 week mark then!

{Coming in October}

It's true!  We are happy to announce baby Hoff arriving sometime in October 2012!

The last three months have been insane.  Between being tired and sick, I'm not sure how I've made it this far....Chad has been a great help! 

We've been getting a lot of "It's about time!" and "We didn't think you two were ever going to have kids!" Well people, God doesn't give you more than you can handle.  After the loss of our home to the flood we also lost our baby last summer.  It wasn't our time.  Chad and I focused on getting our lives back into order and getting our house rebuilt so we could see if God had a great plan for us in 2012...turns out he did =)  HE knew we couldn't handle both life changing events last summer and had us focus on getting a roof over our heads again so that we could focus on the next plan he had for us.

We got to see the little bugger at 7 weeks (thought we were only about 6 weeks) as just a little peanut and again at our appointment on April 5 (where we measured ahead again, now at 13 weeks!).  Chad was too cute, "It's got arms and legs now!"  He sure is going to make a great dad =)  

I've been sick, and thankfully if I remember to take Zyrtec that somehow makes it more tolerable.  Chad's been doing the grocery shopping for us (as long as I make the list out to what we need from each isle specifically) and helping out with laundry.  I've had severe cramping, bleeding, and a hard time drinking water (apparently when you know you have to drink it it just doesn't taste as good....) but the little bugger is growing, and growing fast!  Some say the sicker you are the healthier your pregnancy...I beg to differ...I sure don't feel healthy.  

Cravings? Yeah.  Nothing crazy though.  Each week it's something different.  Peaches, pretzels with dippy cheese, cheeseburgers, summer sausage, Arby's cheese sticks,  the list goes on.  I've just been eating whatever sounds good because if it doesn't sound good, it doesn't sit well in my stomach.  I haven't gained much weight, but I haven't been able to each much before 3:00 in the afternoon!

Chad's on edge. I'm on edge. We have a constant worry that this won't be our take home baby.  But after seeing the little bugger on the ultra sound chilling out sucking it's thumb, somehow I just know this one is it.  

It's been a hectic journey for us....we wouldn't change a thing.  Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers you've had for our little family.  We appreciate it!

love--

Chad, Brit, Sadie, and baby Hoff