More on that later...

In my previous post, I stated several times that there would be "more on that later". Well now is later so allow me to explain. As previously stated, I feel like the move into our new house is never ending. As of this week, all boxes in the house have been unpacked (and the contents organized), broken down, and thrown away or put in a pile to save for friends who are moving. Unfortunately this doesn't count the plethora of unopened boxes and random things that were never actually "packed" that have been sitting in the garage for the past 2 months, or the things that were unpacked by my lovely and very much appreciated unpacking assistants (thanks Mom and Teresa!) but still need to be organized in my OCD way. Am I concerned about this? Nope, not at all because it's been for a very good reason...

Our beautiful baby #3! (Isn't that the cutest little frog baby you've ever seen?!)

We found out we were pregnant on Easter morning, me around 6am and Jeff around 7am when he opened an egg in his Easter basket and found a little baby "chick" inside (or a tiny pregnancy test).

FYI: Dollar Tree sells pregnancy tests and they really work. I happened to be in Dollar Tree the day before Easter picking up some things for my 2 love's baskets and noticed their tests were about 1/3 the size of normal tests and thought that would be a fun way to share the news with my Mr. in case it turned out to be positive.

I'll share our initial reactions and feelings of getting pregnant so soon after miscarrying in a later post, but we didn't share the news with our families until about 6.5 weeks (we found out around 4 weeks), the week before the move and it was something to the tune of, "Surprise! We're pregnant. I'm sick and we need help!" As with my pregnancy with Lucy, I started getting sick right around the beginning of week 6 and it was pure misery. My inlaws found out when Jeff texted asking for a prescription for Zopran (the miracle drug!) and my parents found out when I was too sick to get off the couch and too nauseous to walk into my kitchen to clean it before they came for a visit. I went to our final walk through of the house feeling like I was going to use our bathroom for the very 1st time by throwing up in it and going to our house closing was the 1st time I had really been out of bed in days. I was able to unpack most of the kitchen the 1st day we moved in but after that I was pretty much stuck in bed or on the couch for the next 4 weeks. No unpacking, no cleaning, just trying to entertain Lucy while laying down and trying to make it through the day.

I waited a while before sharing the news for a few reasons which (sorry!) will be explained more in a later post. However, you won't have to wait too long. The post is already written and published. Where you ask? On our new blog! The name "Goose Tales" came from Lucy's nickname "Lucy-Goose" shortened to "Goose" and of course our "Tales" are the stories about her so I couldn't blog about a nonGoose on this blog, now could I. (Did you get all that?!) From now on, you can find our stories on "4 P's in a new Pod" at 4pruitts.blogspot.com. You'll still find tales of Lucy and our new little P, as well as progress on the house. I have lots of Pinterest projects planned so please join us over there to watch our lives and home evolve.

Big News on the Home Front

I kind of feel a little silly creating this post as if it's new information but I haven't blogged about it so as far as the blog world is concerned, it is new information. Lets just pretend it's the beginning a May for a few minutes, shall we?

We're in!!!

We're asked constantly, "How's the house?" and the answer is always, "A disaster!" I feel like this is the never ending move (more on that later) but we are just thrilled to be in our own space where we are free to scratch the floors, mark up the walls, and make a mess. Not that I actually allow said scratches and marks (I almost cried when Jeff put the 1st holes in a wall to hang a picture), but if we wanted to, we could make them and no one could say anything because these walls and floor are ours!!!

So, here's a little tour. These pictures were taken before we moved in so some things aren't quit finished. I meant to take pictures of everything finished before we started moving things in, but I was a bit preoccupied (again, more on that later).

Welcome to our home!

This picture was taken before the railing was painted white. If you were following my pictures on Facebook, you'll know this is wrong door #2. Unfortunately we weren't able to get the door we wanted so it's something we'll have to change later. 

This is the entry way from above. 

Next you come to the stairs (and a pajama clad Lucy). This picture was taken before the stairs were stained the same color as the hardwoods. 

Continuing downstairs, this is a the coat closet that will eventually be turned into a mudroom. The plan is to take the door off and put in a custom-built bench/shelves/hook unit but that's a project for another day. 

Then you come to the living room. 

This is a view from the upstairs balcony. 

Another balcony view showing the living room and kitchen.

The kitchen without counter tops, appliances, and picture frame molding.

Now with appliances although this isn't our refrigerator. I'll share this story because we learned a very valuable lesson. Our contract stated that we had a $1200 allowance for a refrigerator so we asked about it and they said we could pick our own, give them the receipt and they would reimburse us. Or they could put in a refrigerator. I wanted a specific one so we opted to be reimbursed. We searched online and sale fliers when we started building and about a week before closing we went to Lowes where we found exactly what we wanted in their refurbished appliance section. The sign on the fridge said the original buyers reported it made a noise but it was checked and nothing was found to be wrong. So, while we're standing in the store waiting for someone to help us, a man comes up and says refurbished appliances are a great way to go. He apparently flips houses and buys them often. He told us to ask if they would go down on the price so when the manager came over, we asked a few questions, made it seem like we were kind of indifferent, and asked if the price listed was as low as he could go. He thought and said he could give it to us for $1200. So, we got a $2200 fridge for $90 (after paying taxes and getting our $1200 reimbursement from the builder)! Moral of the story: Check the refurbished section and ask for a better price! 

Continuing our tour, after walking through an arched doorway, you come to a small pantry then the master bedroom (pictured). My closet is the door on the right (Jeff's is on the other side of the room) and the bathroom is on the left. 

Master bathroom before the faucets, jacuzzi tub, shower, and toilet were installed. 

Also down the hallway is the laundry room on the right, a half bath on the left, and a door to the garage straight back. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of that but it's looking like the laundry room may be the 1st room finished so you may get to see a finished picture of that very soon!

We didn't do a great job taking pictures of the upstairs either so you'll have to use your imagination for these. After coming straight up the stairs, you walk down a small catwalk and into the playroom. 

Further down the hallway is Lucy's bathroom. The double vanity is separated from the tub and toilet.

Lucy's bedroom is further down on the left.

And the guest bedroom is straight down the hall (Big plans are in the works for this room so stay tuned!)

We are loving our new house so much! My favorite part is how open it is. I can see straight from the kitchen to the front door so no matter what's going on, I'm always with the family. And, even if Lucy is playing in the playroom and I'm downstairs, I can hear everything she's doing and can talk to her from the balcony without having to yell. Lucy's favorite part is the backyard. She loves her new swing set and talking to the neighbor girls through the fence. Jeff's favorite part is the jacuzzi tub. I think this thing gets used daily!
Once we get this place unpacked and decorated, it really will be our dream home. We couldn't be happier. Well, I would be a little happier if the neighborhood pool was in but I have plenty of unpacking to keep me busy in the meantime.
I'll continue to post each room with detailed info as it's finished but I hope you enjoyed the semi unfinished house tour.

Your presence is requested...

Ok, so this post is officially waaaayyy overdue but after planning, creating, and executing, Lucy's 3rd birthday party, I was just too pooped to relive it. But now that I've had 2 months to recover, you are invited to join me as I recap the day we celebrated 3 years of keeping our princess alive having our princess in our lives!

A brief disclaimer: 

Many have commented on the extravagance of Lucy's parties but I want to remind you that while some choose to put major emphasis on Christmas gifts, we choose to leave the emphasis for Christmas on Christ and only give Lucy 1 gift. Therefore, for Lucy's birthday, the emphasis is on her and we want her life and her personality to be celebrated on that day.

Also, sorry for the random placement of pictures/descriptions. I usually like for things to be more uniform in a post but some things it wouldn't let me do. 

When I found out we were having a girl, the party ideas started flowing and I now have party themes and ideas up to Lucy's 16th birthday. Obviously nothing is set in stone and they can change based on her preferences, but a mom can dream can't she? So far, all of the themes I've had planned have fit right into what Lucy's into at the time. For year 1, we had a ball party. Since "ball" was Lucy's 1st word and her nursery was done in polka dots, it pretty much summed up her 1st year of life and we truly did have a ball at that party. We "Turned 2 at the Zoo" and really, what 2 year old doesn't love animals? I was right on target once again for #3 with a Princess party. To say Lucy is into princesses is a huge understatement so she couldn't have been more excited about this party! 

Of course you can find Disney princess junk anywhere and it would have been super easy to use a party pack but where is the creativity in that? I wanted the day to truly be a royal affair and create 1 of a kind things for our princess. Playing Cinderella is fine for an ordinary day, but every princess deserves their own special princess things for their special day. So, I searched and searched and searched for ideas of actual royal events and then customized them to fit Lucy's taste. Luckily The Royal Wedding wasn't that long ago so I found some inspiration from that, especially with the invitations. My initial thought was to just use fancy wording but after finding what was listed as the "official invitation to William and Kate's wedding," I went with that wording instead. (I must say, William and Kate's invitations were awfully plain. See for yourself.) 

Our invites started with the ribbon but were too big to fit in my hot pink envelopes so I cut them down and used crown stickers to attach the invitation printed on velum to sparkly princess scrapbook paper. I'm kind of glad the ribbon didn't work because I used ribbon on her invites last year and didn't want them to look the same. I wanted the crown stickers in the beginning but had a hard time finding some I liked. 

Every princess needs a signature princess dress and Lucy's turned out almost exactly how I had pictured it. I started with a dress from Target and added the layer of satin then gathered it in the middle. I sewed some tulle on the shoulders to make them a little puffier and found the gloves in the dollar section of Target. (From that description, it sounds as though it took me 5 minutes, but believe me, this was one of the bigger projects of the party.) Lucy was thrilled when I showed it to her and it's still one of her favorite dress up dresses. Initially, I had planned to make a tutu dress but I was worried it would be too itchy so when I found this tulle dress at Target for $20 I knew we had a winner. The whole thing ended up costing about $25 and a little bit of sweat and blood (no exaggeration here) but it was definitely worth it to see my little princess in her custom princess dress. 

The party started at 10:30 so we had mini-muffins and sparkling grape juice for our guest to snack on as they visited with each other and played at the various stations. 

The girls started in the playroom for lots of dress up fun. We started packing early so all that was left was princess goods. 

Girls party favors- jewelry boxes, crowns, a necklace, bracelet, and earrings.

Plenty of shoes to go around! I think the boys had some fun with these as well.

 

No princess is ready without her hair and make up done. Lucy's boyfriend, Will, had lots of fun helping the girls with this.

 Lots of wardrobe changes for everyone!

Cinderella and Sweet Pea Beauty were home and ready to play.

 

Behind the couch in the living room, we set up Lucy's princess tent with big, comfy pillows and some princess books for those wanting to explore the "Palace Library".

The boys began their journey in the living room where they found a sword and crown. (I forgot to get a picture.) All sword fights took place on the deck in front of Lucy's castle. (See above)

A castle full of princesses 

Ariel's under water adventure was next to the castle. (It's amazing how fun a tub of water and some bath toys can be.)

In the middle of the deck we had the "Royal Games"- princess bowling and princess bean bag toss. (See above) Next to that we had princess puzzles for the kids to work. 

At the opposite end of the deck from the castle, we had "The Royal Ball". 

After some royal playtime, the royal feast was served. 

I tried really hard to get a picture of our feast without children but they were just too anxious to get started once they got a load of all the sweets. Please notice the birthday banner fit for a princess. A sweet, sweet friend of my mother-in-law GAVE me her old Cricket and I have had so much fun playing with it, not to mention it saved me hours when making this banner. Thanks Mrs. Becky!!!

(My pictures were reversed when they uploaded and I'm too lazy to switch them all so we'll start with dessert and end with the main course. )

Pink and white chocolate and sparkly sprinkle covered pretzels. 

White chocolate covered marshmallow "crowns". Marshmallows are 1 of Lucy's current favorite foods and I think she had about 10 of these at the party.

Ring pops and princess fruit snacks

Glad to see the melon balls made it out this year. My poor mom spent hours making them for Lucy's 1st birthday party and we forgot to actually put them out for the party! 

Crown cookies- This was my 1st time working with cookie icing and lets just say I have a lot to learn but these things were yummy! I used this recipe which tasted delicious, but boy was the dough sticky and really hard to cut with. I let it sit overnight in the fridge and still had to pop it in the freezer often. 

Crown PB&J sandwiches

Chicken salad sandwiches on mini croissants 

Princess and the Pea Pasta Salad- bow tie pasta with veggies including little green peas and some Italian dressing.

I think cupcakes are a million times easier for this age than cutting a cake, etc. so chocolate pound cake with buttercream frosting and sparkly pink sprinkles it was. (Thanks to the Cricket again, those cake toppers were free and took about 5 minutes to make. Love that machine!)

Strawberry yogurt parfaits with raspberries, strawberries, and homemade granola. 

This was my 1st attempt at Brie and I will be making it again. It was so yummy!

Our happy crowd

We did cake, 

 Gifts

and time out (Oh don't act like we're mean parents for putting her in time out at her party. This was actually after the party and the chairs says "Even princesses need a time out." Too bad the seat broke so she's literally "in" time out.)

Princesses have to potty too. 

And we called it a day. Lucy had the best time at her party. She still talks about it and says it was the best day ever! She loved having all of her friends and family all in 1 place and I am so thankful everyone could come and celebrate our precious princess' life!

To my beautiful princess,

Oh my sweet girl, I still look at you and cannot believe you are mine. You are so smart and funny (definitely from your daddy) and just so beautiful inside and out. You certainly keep me busy but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love you, sweet girl, more than you'll know until you are blessed with a smart, beautiful, crazy girl of your own. (Which may or may not happen because as of now you say you want the baby but don't want to get married but you know you have to get married first.) I love your big smile and your big hazel eyes (those are from me!) and even all of your questions (most of the time). You've changed our lives more than we ever could have imagined and made life so much more fun and fulfilling. Thank you for being you! 

Love and Happy 3rd Birthday,

Mommy and Daddy

Big News

Sooooo I've been slack and have withheld info from you for about a month. So sorry! I'm in full birthday planning mode so there just hasn't been much spare time for the ol' blog. I can't reveal any birthday secrets yet but I can share some news on a much bigger scale.

We're building a house!

That's right folks, our year transiting to Aiken is finally coming to an end. You'll remember from this post that we moved to Aiken officially last June and have had our house on the market since last February without much luck. In October we decided to put our house up for rent as well as for sell because, well paying a mortgage and rent is a little hard on the bank account. We were getting a little, No a lot fed up with our realtor as the house was shown only once in a year (not by him) so at the end of January we decided to start searching for a new one. I met with a realtor on a Tuesday and was very impressed with how quickly he responded to emails/phone calls and his motivation in getting the house listed and sold. We signed with him the next night and wouldn't you know not 2 hours later we got a call from the rental listing agent who said our house was rented and the tenant would be moving in the next day. Great news for us, not so great news for our new realtor.

We went back and forth a little bit about whether or not to go ahead and start building or wait until the lease is up on our house (next Februray) so we could build our savings back up and have more for a down payment. After talking to our mortgage guy and looking at our finances, we decided to go ahead and start since the interest rates are sooooo low right now. I'm so glad we did because I am so ready to be in a place that is ours again. And to decorate! Oh how I have missed all my pictures and Lucy's bedroom looking like a real little girl lives in it.

Enough about that for now. Believe me, you'll get your fill when we actually move in. In the meantime, I have pictures!!! Enjoy!!!

Our lot 2.3.2012

The work begins! 2.16.2012

Laying the foundation. 2.23.2012

The framing begins. 2.28.2012

Starting the 2nd floor. 3.1.2012

We have 4 walls and a roof. 3.3.12

View from the front door.

Stairs to the right of the front door

Coat closet under the stairs

Living room windows (the room above is a spare bedroom)

Looking up from the living room- upstairs hallway/balcony overlooking living room

The playroom is to the left, Lucy's bathroom is in the middle, (not pictured) Lucy's bedroom and the spare bedroom are to the left

Kitchen (the cabinets will be on this side)

Other side of kitchen (dining area is on this side)

Half bath (Living room is through the wall)

Laundry room across from half bath (Jeff's closet is through the wall to the right and the garage is through the wall to the left)

Master bedroom

Jeff's closet

Master bathroom

My closet (I won't even begin to describe my excitement about having my own closet again.)

Back of the house

Garage

I hope you enjoyed this little tour. Stayed tuned for more! (I really didn't mean for that to rhyme.)