I feel like my blogs are becoming slightly broken record-ish, but it still feels necessary to say that, in case you somehow missed it, we’re sick over here. Dekker and Laela have seemed pretty well the last few days, but Brady is brutally sick, I’m not too too bad but I’m fairly dead on my feet, and Rowan has been struggling over the last day or two again. It just. Keeps. Cycling.

Ro woke up around 7:30 this morning, which is EARLY for our family. And instead of his usual gradual wake-up of playing and talking, he was crying. It woke me from a dead sleep, so it took me a second before everything registered, and by the time it did, he was back to sleep. I didn’t think much of it, as I figured he had probably woken up from one thing or another, was still tired, and wanted to go back to sleep. No big deal. Everyone stayed quiet then for quite some time. When it was time to get up, I went upstairs and made Rowan his oatmeal, like always, so it can cool while I change diapers. Laela and Dekker were in good spirits, and even Rowan seemed happy to see everyone. BUT. Rowan was HOT. His face was red, and he was hot to the touch. I checked his temperature right away, and it didn’t register as over. I checked it again, and still, nothing. But I was positive that he was fevering. We’ve questioned this thermometer before, and we think its finicky, so I gave Ro medicine anyway. Sure enough, while he ate his oatmeal, banana, and yogurt, he cooled off and was soon in much better shape. I considered that he also cut a molar a day or two back, and if nothing else, the Tylenol would ease any discomfort he was still experiencing from that.

It was less than an hour after breakfast that he became inconsolable. Just out of nowhere, he started crying and crying. He wouldn’t eat, and he wasn’t fevered again, so I opted for an earlier nap for him. He went down seamlessly, all wrapped up in his blankets, cuddled up warm.

He proceeded to sleep for FIVE HOURS. No word of a lie. The big kids ate lunch, napped, I rested, the kids got back up, we played, Brady came home from work, and Rowan was still sleeping. Now my kids are rockstars at sleeping thru sickness, which I am INCREDIBLY grateful for! But I don’t care who you ask. That is a LONG nap. Finally, Brady went in to get him up, because we want him to sleep at night, and he was laying still, completely wrapped in his blankets, out cold. He needed to get up, though, so Brady got him up and carried him around to wake him up slowly. Once again, he was burning up. The monitor we have in his room tells us the temperature, and his room got down to 19C only!! How can anyone fever in that temperature?! Craziness, I know. So we gave him medicine, and then considering that he hadn’t eaten since breakfast, I sat at the table with him and tried to come up with yummy things for him to eat that would be easy on his belly. I opted for crackers and some applesauce. He ate two applesauce cups but would not touch the crackers. Not one. But that was all we could get into him 🙁 He seemed happy enough, but didn’t want to eat. He just yawned and yawned.

We spent a bit of time watching tv before bed, since none of us had a whole lot to offer the group. Rowan just lay reclined on me and watched. He was so tired and cuddly. Everyone was very comfy and relaxed, and then it was time to go upstairs and tidy toys and get ready for bed. While Brady brushed the kids teeth, I took Rowan into their room for a diaper change and such. First, I checked his temperature and again, it was low. But again, I don’t buy it. He was hot. His tummy was hot, his neck and back were hot, he was fevered. Good to know. In a moment of tickles, I figured I’d take advantage of that wide open mouth and check out that molars progress. And what I found was TWO MORE MOLARS! The kid has cut three molars in the last few days!!! How crazy is that?! No wonder he’s been sad as often as he’s been awake! And no wonder he’s hardly been awake! Poor little monkey. He is just going through it.

He drank most of a bottle and was very ready to be tucked in and put to bed, as are Brady and I. We are tired and cranky. I’m really hoping tomorrow is an amazing day of healing and rest for all of us, and for all of you as well 🙂 As Saturday should be.

Have a good weekend! Stay healthy!

Of the whole fam, Brady is definitely feeling the worst. It changes every couple of days, and its currently his turn. Last night was particularly rough, and I thought I’d share the humorous side of it with you guys. And likely, I’m sharing this with Brady, because he has no idea all of the antics that he put me through last night.

I’ll start off by saying that Brady is a top notch bed-sharer. He sticks to his side, we have a good balance with how many blankets we’re each allowed, he rarely talks in his sleep or does anything notable like that. He’s a chill person to share a bed with. But MY GOSH! When this guy is sick, its a whole different story!

Because he’s sick, he’s sleeping much harder when he finally gets there. So in the last little while, with all of the sickness, I’ve become more accustomed to Brady rolling half on top of me, and just staying put. Last night specifically, I wanted to be gentle with him, but he was out cold and could not be lulled. I took it for a while, because he was weirdly jabbing his knee into my back in a way that countered my crazy pelvic pain, haha! But once he shifted and it just plain hurt, I shoved him off. I love you, man, but no way.

Another sick thing that Brady does is snore. And I mean, let’s be real. Who doesn’t snore when they’re sick?? I hold nothing against him AT ALL. But he makes such crazy sounds!! Its less like a predictable snore, and more like a “did I just hear a mouse/the kids are awake/someone drove up to our house/the toilet is running” kind of snore. At least I’m entertained while I’m awake.

I tried to help him out a bit when he woke up shivering. Our room wasn’t any colder than usual, and he couldn’t warm up. He was in and out of sleep, but his shaking wouldn’t stop. His neck was boiling hot, so I took him some meds and tried to help him feel better. He took them, but was SO zonked. I so rarely see him like that. I had so much compassion for him.

Until this last one. He lay in something of a fetal position, but with one cold foot pressed right against my butt. Nice, I know. I shifted away from him, but that foot was persistent!! It just kept coming, haha! As I neared the very edge of the bed, I realized that he was ever so gently (but actually somewhat aggressively) kicking me out of bed. I finally just stopped trying to get away and accepted the foot on my butt. This was ok for about five seconds, when he started flexing and clenching his toes. That was IT! Hahahaha!! In my normal daytime voice, I said “Ok, thats enough Brady, wake up, move over.” He did immediately and asked what was wrong. I told him he was kicking me off the bed, and he apologized and fell back to sleep instantly. I figured that gave me enough clearance to share this story publicly, so there you have it.

Love me still, Brady?? <3

The Born household continues to take a beating from this ridiculous cold that has been upon us for just shy of three weeks now. Brady lost his voice and was feeling pretty horrific, but being the man he is, he powered through a ten hour work day and came home to us with a smile on his face. Unfortunately, he’s feeling worse as the day wears on 🙁 I’m SO thankful for the kids having a decent day today! We’ve had some hard days recently, with lots of attitudes and punishments and struggles, but today was better! The kids were in better spirits, and in better health. They played really well together, and even shared the prized toys that tend to get hidden by whoever had them last. There was less complaining, no time outs, and they napped without a fight. I’m feeling pretty disgusting still, but nowhere near how Brady feels. My throat in in pretty decent pain, and there is always mucus in it, so that just adds to the ick factor :/ But I’ve definitely felt worse than this, so we’ll take it! Therefore, while we had a smoother day and Brady had a rougher one, it probably helped a little bit that he didn’t come home to chaos the way he sometimes does.

We opted not to drive to our lot today, in an effort to be grown ups and not have to go every day, haha! But my dad did, and sent us this picture!

The tarping means that the walls were officially poured today! Eek!!! We’ll potentially venture out there tomorrow, since they’ll have the forms pulled off at least. From there, we’ll leave it alone over the weekend, and hopefully the framing will start really really soon! I can’t wait!!

We rocked a really easy supper and watched some tv with the kids, but Rowan was SO done SO early. He’s the one kid thats still feeling it pretty hard. His hair is cemented to his face with boogers every morning. Delicious, I know. So he was pretty over it by the time bedtime routine began. But he’s such a smart kid, and he knows when its bedtime, because as soon as we start changing diapers and jammies and such, he is so much happier! He plays and crawls and seems wide awake. He just knows he will soon get what he wants. Bed.

On that note, Brady and I are also ready for bed very very soon. Tomorrow is a new day! I hope for a much better one for Brady, and hopefully more of the same for me! Sickies can’t be choosies!

Today was a really big day! Thanks to Brady for rearranging his schedule, we were able to run a bunch of errands together as a family this afternoon. I thank God for his flexible schedule so often these days. He finished his house off before 9:00am and was home to help get everyone ready and out the door in time for my doctors appointment!

I’m 24 weeks today. On a note unrelated to me, I have a friend who delivered her son at about 23.5 weeks, and its crazy to me to think that my baby looks a little bit like her baby did when he was fresh!! At this stage of the game, I’m at an appointment once every four weeks, and this time around, it was five. I love prenatal appointments. Hearing the heartbeat is always lovely, asking any questions I have, the kids being involved a little bit, and the reminder that we are getting closer and closer to delivery! I know, still a ways off, but its coming fast! Today, I was able to learn a few small things that I figured I’d share for those who are interested. This baby is rocking an anterior placenta! Rowan’s also implanted on the front, so its not unfamiliar. It drove me up the wall when it happened with Rowan because I didn’t know about it until around 20 weeks, like usual, but it took about that long to feel him kick, because of the placental placement. No harm, just a bit nerve wracking. Well, lo and behold, this baby has his placenta in the front as well. I think I felt him move sooner than I felt Rowan, but it was still quite a bit later than I felt the others. I assumed this time it was just because I was so busy, and I hadn’t been taking much time to sit quietly and give my body a chance to feel! Now I know. I also learned that my placenta has an extra chunk off of it. Its not separating or coming apart or anything scary like that, but its a good thing to note so that it definitely comes out in delivery. You do NOT want leftover placenta hanging out in there! That equals all kinds of scary things that I don’t want to experience, so we’ll just make sure to fish that sucker out of there on the day things go down, so to speak. All good things to note, anyway. Babys heart rate is a solid 155 bpm, and it was music to my ears. It was a good appointment.

After our visit, we ran around to a bunch of different places, looked at a bunch of different things, made some decisions, and finally grabbed some coffee and headed to our lot. My mom had emailed pictures that she had taken when she checked it for us around noon, and we were way too excited not to come and see the progress made since then! (PS Mom, did you just venture out for us? You never have to, but I LOVE that you did!!!!!) When we got there, we saw a whole crew of guys working on our basement wall forms!!

Brady is gutsier than me, and went out to chat with them. They have plans to pour the walls tomorrow, and apparently, the framers are pretty much chomping at the bit for work, so they’re eager to get a start on our place, which is awesome to hear 😀 We are also eager for the framers to start! Eek! Moving right along!!!

We got home before suppertime. After a super easy supper, we watched a tiny bit of tv and then it was bedtime. The kids seemed to be struggling today, with very little downtime or quiet, and frankly, I was feeling that too. They’re all in bed now, and the tuna melt bagel is striking again. I could eat one of those things every day. So. Good. So we’ll eat, and then go hot tubbing. I was all limpy yesterday and I didn’t wake up all refreshed like usual, but rather twingy and still somewhat limpy. Gotta soak my bod to it can function tomorrow!! Just a home day for us, I think, but likely venturing out to see our new walls after work!!

Some of you who have probably been reading for the last month or two probably think I’m starting to lose it. I work SO very hard to be positive, but we’ve had some roller coasters over here, and I know I’ve complained more than usual the last little while. I think I can still safely say that I’m not losing it, but I have been struggling a little bit. Very recently, a big stress was lifted, so I’m feeling a bit lighter today, which is a treat. Even better, I got out of the house with Kim for the afternoon!! I haven’t had a good solid coffee and shopping date in a while, and it was just perfect!

Brady worked the morning, and I hung out at home. While I waited for him to arrive, we got a beautiful downpour of big fluffy snow. It was gorgeous, but a bit ominous out here with our long driveway. We have no snowblower, so I just requested Brady to do a couple of laps in his van when he arrived home, to make tracks for me. His van is loaded down with tools, so its heavier than mine, and is a bit better in that kind of thick snow. He managed to clear a way for me, and we pretty much high fived each other at the door, him coming and me leaving. It was a fast exchange, but I was ready to go!

I met Kim at the mall for lunch. We perused the stores a bit but eventually settled in Starbucks and visited a bit more. After a really nice coffee break, we bailed on the mall and hit up Value Village. We used to do Value Village trips a lot, but haven’t found time in the last few months for the obvious reasons of insane busyness. But today was a great day for it!!

We killed THREE HOURS at Value Village, and that was only going to the one location! Eek! As we were shopping, a woman came by and, completely out of nowhere, gave us her stamped card that qualified us for 30% off! It was so lovely and unexpected! We shopped and tried stuff on and did a full second round of the store before deciding on our stuff and heading to the till. The cashier made it work for us to both use the 30% deal, and my purchases were less than $20! Included in that was a bit long sweatshirt that fits over my belly (win!) and at least two articles of clothing for each kid, including baby #4. I was really happy with everything I bought, and thankfully, upon arriving home, so were they! Dekker and Laela liked everything that I had picked, which is actually a win, since they occasionally have big opinions about things all of a sudden. I didn’t end up getting Brady anything this time, but don’t worry, he still likes me.

I’m home, the kids are tucked away for the night, and the tuna melt bagels are prepared and ready to be tossed in the oven any minute! Then its time for some hot tubbing, because I forgot to bring my handibelt thing and I am paying for it dearly. That ridiculous spasming muscle just won’t give up!! I feel like it deserves a name, being that its unreasonably significant in my life. I want to be able to hurl insults at it. Suggestions are welcomed. Or its going to end up being something lame. My good name ideas go towards the baby. As if he’s not named already 😉

We never do anything too big and frilly for Valentine’s Day around here. Its not as easy to get away for date time, and specifically this year, we just day tripped to Edmonton a few weeks back, which we figured would pretty much double as celebrations for Valentine’s Day and our anniversary. That being said, we had a lovely day together!

It started first thing in the morning, actually, when something thats been making us feel incredibly stressed and overwhelmed lately was cleared up and taken care of!!! What an enormous relief!! It was an amazing way to start the day! We had breakfast with the kids as soon as we made our way upstairs, and Rowan ate an unbelievable amount of food. I’m so amazed at how much he can pack away since he’s really gotten into eating solids and has kiboshed his milk. He still has a good bottle before bed, but thats it, and he likes it that way. Win!

After breakfast, we hauled everyone down into our room, and Brady showered while I did my makeup, and the kids played in our bed and ran around and we just spent some time all together, getting ready for the day. It was really low key, and felt very normal for us, which was nice. Things haven’t felt “normal” for a while around here. But it was a good morning 🙂

We went to my parents for the afternoon and evening, which is our normal Sunday routine. I had promised to bring a dessert, even though my mom has tons of delicious things on hand, just to contribute something yummy and festive from our family. But of course, baking didn’t work out last night, and I ended up ducking into Cold Stone on our way to their place. I’m pretty sure no one can shut down those cookie ice cream sandwiches anyway. But then we went their way. We had an unreasonably good lunch, where I ate my body weight in rice and chicken and golden mushroom sauce and honey glazed cooked carrot. My gosh, I can still taste it all. I should have asked for leftovers for a late night snack… It was SO good. Then we visited the afternoon away while Rowan napped and the big kids stayed up and chatted and argued and played. We had a faspa supper and then tidied up before heading on our way. The kids were sad to go but it was nice and past their bedtime, so it had to be done.

Brady and I decided to treat ourselves to a pink Starbucks drink on our way home, just in order to do something a little bit Valentine’s Day-ish. We each got a white chocolate mocha with some raspberry syrup, and we both really really liked them!! Don’t question Bradys manhood over this. It was that good. Like a raspberry and cream filled chocolate.

We are now home, and all three kids are tucked away. I think we’re going to hot tub for a bit and then call it a night. I know, we sure know how to party. But while tomorrow is a stat for most, Brady is going to work the morning. It will make our plans for the rest of the day and for Tuesday run so nice and smooth, so thats the plan! I’ll miss him, but this just makes the best sense.

I hope you all felt cherished by someone today, regardless of who it was. More importantly, though, I hope you feel cherished everyday. Valentines Day is a fun tradition, but I know lots of people who are against it because they think it promotes the idea that people only have to be thoughtful and caring on that one day, when really they should be loving every day. I definitely agree that we should be loving and feel loved every day, so be THAT person. Don’t be the person who only shows love when they “have” to. Show love always!

<3

On Thursday, I talked about the excitement that came with watching the footings of our home being built and then poured all in one day. We didn’t go see the lot yesterday, because we didn’t know how much would really even get done. We knew someone would likely come and remove the forms around the footings, but then that guys work would be done, and we didn’t know if anything else would be arranged for that day. Turns out, three different people/crews came!!! The footings forms were taken down, someone came to pour gravel to fill in the basement foundation, and someone even came and delivered the forms for the basement walls!!!

This means that on Tuesday (with Monday being a stat holiday) the basement wall forms will be built up, and possibly even poured! We have NO idea if they will actually be poured, but we try really hard to stay out of the way and not pester the trades for information. We don’t want the people who are working on our house to find us annoying, so we try to just be patient and excited, and so far, its worked, and we’ve been well received. Whether the pour happens on Tuesday or Wednesday, we recently realized that there will be a one week-ish delay on everything after that step, to give the walls lots of time to cure before framing begins. I WISH we could skip that step, but it is obviously a VERY important thing. No one wants their basement walls to crack!! So we wait.

We continue to hope and pray for great weather. The next two weeks are forecasted to be fairly mild, which I am so looking forward to! I just hadn’t considered the week pause in the build, and I would LOVE to keep our framers happy with milder weather. A cold snap would delay things longer than they already have been, and we are praying hard for efficiency! But I do not control the weather, thats for sure! So even if we get the cold snap just in time for framers, I will enjoy the warmth as long as we have it!

Time frames and ideals aside, our house IS being built, and it WILL be ours within the foreseeable future! I cannot wait to continue the process, to enjoy it thoroughly, and to move in at the end of the everything. SUCH wonderful times ahead. New baby, new home, life is crazy!!!

Yesterdays post was loaded enough without yet another topic of importance, so I bumped it until todays post. And honestly, I think its great that I was able to. While it was two years ago now, Dekker’s eye surgery is still a very fresh, vivid memory for me. Being a bit further from it now, I’m able to look at it more clearly, and guys, I was SO unwell when he went through his surgery. Laela had only been born a few months before, and I was so traumatized by that whole experience that I was really unstable bringing Dekker to the hospital for surgery. Seeing him scream and be so scared and alone was awful. Awful. I still can hardly picture those moments without crying. And then sitting with him in recovery while he shook and cried blood from his eyes and nose and was, once again, so scared, was terribly upsetting and difficult. That was two years ago. I am much more capable of seeing how far he has come since then 🙂 So while I know you’ve likely seen these pictures before if you’ve followed me long enough, I feel the need to share them again. Memories.

And now!! I know, this picture doesn’t speak for the straightness of his eyes, but it speaks for Dekker as a boy. He is SO much more confident than before this whole ordeal, and I am thrilled with how far we’ve come in the last two years.

I reread some blog posts and some Facebook memories this morning that really brought me back. Remembering the sticky patches on his body from all of the sensors and tubes and such stuck to him. Remembering that the nurses let him bring his Hot Wheels cars with him into surgery to try to help him feel more comfortable. Remember the eye drops. Oy, those eye drops. Remembering how soon he was hungry again, and how we gave in against orders and let him eat buns. That day was SO long ago! I am so glad its gone and done, but I can honestly say that I would be MUCH better equipped if we ever had to go through such a thing again. I know more now, and things would be very different. For everyone.

That all being said, though, I praise the Lord that Dekker has had ZERO regressions in his vision in the last two years!! At his one year post-op appointment, our doctor seemed very impressed that he hadn’t had any drops in his vision, nor any reoccurring turns in his eyes. He loves to wear his glasses, so he’s following the main part of the plan to keep things in tact 🙂 There is no struggle related to his glasses or his vision whatsoever. To God be the glory!

The pregnant side of my emotions is a bit out of whack at the moment, and I blame this on the entire day being wonderful! I genuinely feel like I could burst into tears at any moment. Not out of sadness, or even joy. Just emotions. Today was a loaded day. While we still have some difficult things going on behind closed doors in our life (not like big, deep seeded issues, just not internet stuff 😉 ) but I feel like a lot of important things were accomplished today, and that has made me tired and happy and relieved and overwhelmed all at once. Whew!

Brady had today off, which couldn’t have been timed better than it was. I finally had my prenatal physio appointment, which I’ve been waiting for for about ten days now. I went in very hopeful for it, and I very much clicked with the physiotherapist. I’m a bit nervous for what is to come, though. She is excellent, and a wealth of information, which I really really like. However, it seems like I am actually in a bit of trouble! Haha! Not that things can’t be solved, but basically I’m in worse shape than I thought I was, and there is a lot of work to be done to get me back to a healthy, stable place. I’m nervous about that. She taught me a lot of things already in our first meeting, but most of it was teaching me how to undo certain habits I’ve had for the better part of my life. Those things are going to be hard. Also, I’m seeing that the solutions to my problems don’t come with much, if any, wiggle room. I need to do things exactly right if I want my body to repair. So after my appointment, not only is my body sore while I try to hold it differently in every scenario, but its also sore from my physiotherapist releasing some of the tight knots in my back. Ouchie! It will pay off soon, I’m confident. I was just surprised at how much work is going to have to go into this. Yikes! Who knew?!

On my way to my appointment, actually, my mom called and had great news! She said our basement footings were being installed! The guy on the job was actually someone I’ve known through my high school years, so they had a nice little chat, and he told her they actually had plans to potentially pour the footings today! He gave my mom a rough idea of when the trucks would arrive, and she immediately called me with the info!

So when I arrived home, the kids were napping, but once Brady and I had eaten lunch, we woke the kids and made our way to our lot in hopes to catch the pour! Two out of three weren’t impressed with being woken up…

Being the responsible parents we are, we kept them in their jammies, threw their coats and boots on, and headed out! My mom called us while we were on the road, and jokingly asked if we were headed to our lot. I laughed at her and said that yes, of course we were. And she proceeded to invite us over for supper! Yay! We’ve been in town SO much recently and haven’t been over to their place once, so it was a lovely invite than we definitely agreed to. After we went to the lot.

Once we arrived, we were told the concrete guys were just a bit behind, and to give it a half hour. So we did. We doddled a bit, checked the mail, and doddled some more. Very soon, though, it was time, and the trucks started arriving!

The guy who was operating the pumper truck was an awesome guy! We asked if our van was in his way, and he assured us we were more than fine to hang around and watch wherever we wanted. When he started unfolding the pump arm/hosey thing (using technical terms here), he kept winking at the kids as they stared out the window, watching. He came over and operated it from the panel he was carrying right next to us, and he even tried to convince Dekker to come help him. “Throw on your hat and come out here, I’ll let you drive it a bit!” he’d say, but Dekker was too shy and wouldn’t have it. I wish he had, though. He would have LOVED it! But thats ok. I love that he offered. He said his kids love to come and watch what he does, and I thought it was so sweet that he was willing to take my four year old on the job site with him.

As his truck was doing its unfolding thing, the concrete truck arrived.

We actually very quickly had a second concrete truck arrive, which seemed odd at the time, but the first one ran out pretty fast, so likely he had just come from another job. But once everyone and everything were lined up, they started to fill the footings. And it was FAST!

We were parked as out of the way as possible, so it was hard for Brady and I to twist around and see the whole thing. Therefore, Brady opted to stand outside the van for a better look. And the little miss insisted on holding his hand through our window. It was pretty much adorable.

He snapped one last picture, the best picture of the day, before we left and headed to my parents for the rest of the evening.

We had pizza and caesar salad for supper, and ice cream sandwiches for dessert. YUM. The kids were really sad to leave, but somehow, all three of them managed to stay awake for the entire drive home, and they are all now sleeping peacefully. Win!

I just feel so overcome by today. In a good way, for the most part. A few stressful, overwhelming, scary things on top of the jubilation that is our home finally coming together! At one point, while the pouring was still going on, the operator of the first concrete truck came to chat with me while I sat in the van. He talked about the size of the house and he encouraged us to enjoy the experience as much as we could. He said it was great that we were coming to watch, and including our kids in the experience. He was so positive. Come to think of it, all week, every trade we’ve come in contact with has been incredibly encouraging, and has had no issue with us watching and taking pictures and being “involved” at the sidelines. We’ve felt included and encouraged and basically permitted to be excited without looking like idiots. People have been warm and understanding. It has helped me feel lifted up during this weird time of sickness, loneliness, and transition in our home. Praise the Lord for the exact right people coming into our lives on the exact right days. Today was a WONDERFUL day!!!

Footings!!! Eeeeek!! Start to finish, today! AWESOME!

Brady finished his work day early, which meant we’d get to spend the afternoon together!! Unfortunately, he brought home some bummer news with him. We were both struggling with it, so we napped the kids and had a good sob-fest. Ok, I sobbed. He was just growly while being simultaneously supportive. We finally could breathe again, so we decided to let the kids nap a bit later than usual (since they had gone down a little later) and we hopped into the hot tub for a regroup session. Stress does bad things to us, beyond just being upset. I’ve started getting mouth sores, and I get really really cold, and Brady’s body cramps up really badly. The answer is obviously the hot tub. So we did that, and decided to make the best of the day. No more talk of stressful things for the day!

So we drove out to see our lot 🙂 I know, we’ve already done this too many times. But we’re excited, and we needed a pick me up. Plus, once again, my mom had gone to check on it for us, and said that there was a TON of progress! She sent some pictures even. I love her for knowing me so well, and knowing I’d want pictures.

By the time we got out there a couple of hours later, the machinery was gone and the job was DONE!!! Eeeeek!!!

Did you laugh? I know you’re all thinking it. Shallowest. Basement. Ever.

(Ugh. For the life of me I cannot get this last picture to load properly, so you can’t see just how shallow the basement is, but the ledge is literally at my waist. SO shallow!!!)

Its ok, we know its shallow. The goal is to have the house raised higher out of the ground to account for bigger, brighter windows, making the basement less basementy. You know what I mean. Its going to be SO BEAUTIFUL! I truly cannot wait to see this thing really start to take shape! I reiterate, if you are ever driving by and see something cool, please oh please take a picture and send it my way!

My question to you out there is this. If you were building a house, or even just looking for your next one, or loving your current one, WHATEVER!, what would you definitely include and what would you be unable to live without? Any “wish I had” or “wasn’t worth it” moments? We don’t want to miss anything, if at all possible! Any tips or ideas would be GREATLY appreciated 😀