Hodge Podge

This post is going to be full of random stuff, so here we go!

Wednesday morning we headed to IKEA to exchange our faulty chair. It actually made for a really nice family outing, since IKEA is so family-friendly. It was Jason's first time too. By the time we got there it was almost time for lunch and we were starved. They have a great little nook for kids to eat and watch a movie (flick of the day was Monsters Inc.). Eden loved it!

Chowing down some french fries, applesauce and apple juice. Lunch of champions. :)

Harry is still a bit small for the kid area, so he ate with Jason and me in his own little chair.

Jason getting ready to eat his lunch - a spinach, turkey, and fontina panini - YUM!

Although we picked up a few other little things, this guy was the main purpose of our visit:

I LOVE this chair! I am so excited to finally have a spot by the fireplace to read. I have to admit I have already spent hours reading in it (Hunger Games trilogy, if anyone is interested).

Next random item: I got the orange towels put into the baskets in the kids/guest bathroom. Looking better!

Last random bit: for the first time since he was born (at 10 months old), I found Harry rolled over in his bed after naptime! He doesn't like to be on his tummy, but I managed to get him to smile enough to snap a picture. He has been slower than Eden when it comes to independent movement, so this was a big step for him. In fact, all week he has been moving more and being more adventurous. Every few minutes I hear him griping when he falls face forward on the floor trying to reach for something. Sounds horrible, but I am glad he is at least trying to move some on his own!

Coffee Bar and a New Desk

After getting the island assembled last week, it was time to get the hutch moved out of the dining room. We had planned to use the island as storage for the stuff currently in the hutch. After everything was moved (and some things stored that are hardly ever used), we still had room on top of the island so we decided to make a coffee bar! I love it since I have recently started drinking coffee. It has the K-Cup Brewer, K-cups, tea packets, creamer and sugar, splenda, and our mugs (hanging from another IKEA bar from my friend, Michelle).

That horrible white thing in the middle of the wall is a phone jack - we have never had a land line since we've been married so we won't be using it. I tried to take it off, but there were so many wires behind it I was too nervous to try and remove them. I have decided to buy some canvas art and just hang it right over the electric cover. I found one canvas that I like but it is small enough I will need some extra things to hang with it. I am determined not to purchase things just to fill space, but to make sure we really like what we hang in the house.

I also wanted to post a picture of the desk I assembled. It fits perfectly in the corner of the music room! I'm not sure I like how I have the shelves arranged, but I'm sure they will change frequently. In fact, they have already been changed from this.

We also need to find a desk chair. We are currently using one we just had laying around, but it mismatches so badly with everything I didn't even want to have it in the picture, haha. Some other things on the to-do list for the music room include hemming the curtains, hanging art above the fireplace (already have an idea of what I want), picking up the new chair from IKEA (I got this when I was there with my mom a few weekends ago, but it has a faulty part where the legs attach so we have to exchange it tomorrow), and finding a lamp and/or table to go with the chair.

It is so nice to see our house becoming our home!

Diet Update

After finishing paleo, I knew I would go back to weight watchers. As I have been getting back into the routine of counting points, I have also been contemplating what adjustments to make to the kind of food I am eating. While on paleo, I had a significant reduction in my pain level (joints, muscle, etc.) and I want to find out what it is that I eat that impacts that. I have decided that my first trial will be with gluten. Weight watchers will still be my weight loss factor, but I will adjust the foods I decide to eat based on the way they impact how my body feels. Gluten free is my first experiment.

The way I am approaching this is to eat foods I know are paleo-approved, and when I want to add something else in, I make sure it does not have gluten. For example, I wanted popcorn the other night but it is not paleo-approved - so I checked the ingredient list to make sure there was no gluten and once confirmed I went ahead and ate some. All of this is still within the limits of my daily points allowance to make sure I am still losing weight while experimenting. Although paleo was a good cleanse, it was hard for me to monitor how much food I should be eating (regardless of how healthy it all was for me, I could still potentially over eat).

I am also trying to apply other basic rules, like only eating when I am hungry, drinking mostly water, eating more produce, being careful about sugar intake, etc. I am still not super excited about the idea of giving up diet soda, but I have a feeling it will be one of my experiments. I know it is not a healthy drink but there is something to be said for having a little bit of unhealthy stuff just for the feel good aspect it brings, haha. With that said, I would have to be much more limited with it than I currently am in order to qualify under "a little bit."

So there you have it - my update for what I am currently doing. I have lost 5 pounds since starting weight watchers two weeks ago and my main goal is to stick within my daily points. The side experiments are just that - on the side. I am hoping to accomplish my weight loss goals as well as discover what foods negatively impact my body, specifically in the area of pain management.

Classic Caranci Cuties

Here is a post in honor of our sweeties - just our wonderful, everyday life. :)

Eden got a new "big girl" booster seat. She loves it! She loves sitting at the table with us now, and I have to say we like it too. Seems like we can finally eat as a family now, with one in the high chair and one in a booster instead of having to trade off with the high chair.

Happy Harry - he laughs and smiles all the time. :)

Being sweet! The kids really are loving with each other - Harry is most definitely touchy-feely all the time, constantly loving on someone. Eden is sweet to him too, usually holding his hand when they are sitting close. Makes my heart swell!

I found a bowling set for them at a consignment sale for $1. Eden seemed to really like it.

She kept setting the pins up in a straight line though...I guess she gets some OCD tendencies from me, haha!

Her first attempt at rolling (more like throwing) the ball into the pins. She over-shot a bit, but got better with time. Even Piper was excited about the new toy!

This is the extent of Harry's involvement with the new bowling set. He was glad to have something new to put in his mouth. :)

My favorite shot of the day! These kids are such a blessing to us - what did we ever do without them?

Lots of Goodies!

Yesterday was a major accomplishing day for me - not too smart on my part, but I definitely got some things done. I have been having a lot of pain/aches the last few days, but there were some things in the house that needed to be done and I didn't think would take too much effort. The first thing on the list was to hang some baskets in the kids'/guest bathroom. My friend Michelle (holla!) gave me these bars and baskets from IKEA and I wanted to put them up. I thought they would be great in the bathroom to hold washcloths and hand towels (we are going to get orange ones to go in there, so it will be a nice pop of color, too). I got to use the power drill and level for this project, and I think I did pretty well!

(straight on shot)

(from the door, so you can see it in perspective)

Next up was to assemble the island we got for the kitchen. This most definitely took more effort than I expected. It didn't take a long time and wasn't super complicated, but I think I gave myself carpal tunnel using the allen wrench. Ouch. But...I REALLY love the finished project! Here it is pictured with some other goodies from the birthday trip: a vase with tall branches from IKEA (I think this will go in our bedroom eventually) and my $6 owl from Kirkland's.

Love him! I think I will name him Clive. :)

With the new island, we moved the bar height table into the dining room and will be giving the hutch and regular dining table to my sister. This is a picture of the disaster room - once the new desk is assembled in the music room (pics to come soon!) and the hutch taken out, plus new light fixtures, I think this room will end up looking nice and open. All on the list of things to do!

In other news, we finally got dates when Jason's sister and her family will be coming to visit - YAY!!!! Jason hasn't seen Jen in 4 years, so it is well over-due. They are planning to come the last week of March (Jen, Scott and the 4 kiddos). I have a master list of things to accomplish in the house before they get here, including finishing the painting in our bathroom and bedroom, moving all the furniture into the right places for upstairs, buying and assembling a bookcase for downstairs, hanging light fixtures in the entry, dining room, and bathrooms, and hanging some decorative things I have in mind for the hallway, music room, and both of the kids' rooms. All to be documented as we go! :)

Catching Up

So it has been a LONG time (okay, a week) since I posted last - but it is because we have been crazy busy and very sick. I am going to try and do a thorough but concise recap for all of you fine folks out there in cyber land. Here goes!

Two weekends ago, we (the kids and I) went to the beach for a few days. No real reason, just to get away and relax a bit. My sister (Sarabeth) and her friend (Loren) went, as well as Grammy. It happened to fall over my 30th birthday, too. :) Here are some shots from the weekend:

The best smile I could get out of the Peanut.

The bean - got the smile, but I'm not sure what he is looking at.

Miss Hollywood watching TV. Seriously, she wore the sunglasses almost the whole time we were at the beach, whether we were inside or out.

They got lots of quality time with Grammy!

We really did have a great time and I was happy to get to go. It was SUPER cold so we didn't get to go outside very much, but I'm sure our summer trip will make up for it.

We were all glad to get back home to Daddy - one of Eden's favorite things is getting "toasty" on the bed and watching TV or a movie with us. :)

When we got home I had about 3 days before my Mom and I left on our birthday trip to Charlotte. First stop: IKEA! One of my favorite places to shop.

We didn't take a lot of pictures inside with the camera, mostly just with the phone to picture message Jason and my Dad to see if they like something we found.

Mom wants to re-create this room in her house - we both loved this library!

I ended up getting a lot of goodies for the house, which I will blog about as they get set up. Some of them take some assembly, so we will see how long it takes us! Included items: chair with ottoman for music room, comforter and sheet set for master bedroom, island for the kitchen, new desk for the music room, and some knick-knacky stuff. Can't wait to get it all set up!

We were hungry after all that shopping so we headed to our hotel to find a spot for supper. Cracker Barrel was it! I love to eat there and since Jason doesn't, it seemed a good opportunity. I had breakfast for dinner - biscuits and gravy, eggs, bacon, and grits. YUM!

The next day was a full day of shopping, so we headed to Kohls after breakfast at the hotel. Found lots of good buys on kids clothes and then headed to lunch at Carrabas. Another favorite of mine - the best dish they have is the Chicken Bryan (grilled chicken with breast with roasted red peppers and goat cheese, served with garlic mashed potatoes).

Next up, Concord Mills! It was SO packed, but we found a couple of little things: clothes for the kids, a ceramic owl (I don't know why, but I just loved him!), two pairs of sketchers for me, and some other little things for the kids. We headed to a movie after that and enjoyed resting our poor feet.

We were heading home Sunday, so after a brief stop to pick up some last minute things at IKEA, a stop at Trader Joe's, and some yucky Indian food, we were on our way. I'm not sure how Gertie (my Aztec) held under all that weight, but we managed to get it all in and make it home!

It was such a good time - nice to get some things for the house, eat good food, spend time with my mom, not have to worry about anyone but myself, and just have a good time. I am so thankful my Mom could come up from AR and spend the weekend - made for a great 30th birthday!

Bleh.

Just wanted to give a short update - sorry I have been out of the blogging world for a bit recently, things have been busy. Not to mention I am sick - AGAIN. I am headed out this weekend for a birthday trip with my mom, but I will catch everyone up on the beach trip, Charlotte trip, and all else that has been going on sometime next week! :D