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A Cautiously Optimistic Hello to 2022

Posted on January 10, 2022

I’ve been on a blogging hiatus for a while now – we moved out of our house in mid-July for our big renovation project, and that’s been consuming all of my mental energy since. To be honest, it’s been a total nightmare and I’m sure our families and close friends are tired of hearing us talk about it. We hired the wrong builder, and our 3 month project that’s now going on 7 MONTHS has been a valuable (albeit painful) learning experience. If you’re in southeast Michigan and are considering a renovation, please message me so I can tell you who to avoid – you’ll thank me later.

This was right after they let it rain INSIDE our house.

Fortunately, the project should hopefully be wrapping up in the next month – Jeremy and I have a TON to share about our experience, and tips for anyone looking for build or renovate. We’ll definitely be blogging (and maybe vlogging!) about it once the project is finally done, and we’ve been able to breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe also have a spa day and find a therapist. The PTSD is real.

In the meantime, I wanted to check in and say Happy (?) 2022! We’ve been staying with my mom this entire time, and the kids loved having Christmas at her house – I think my mom might have loved it just a little bit, too. We are ready to get back in our house though, be done with our builder, and make it our home again.

Jeremy is going to be helping me with content and posts about what’s happening with our little family, so hopefully we’ll have lots of great things to share with you soon. I’ll also be posting some highlights from the last year as well, I can’t wait to share what we’ve been up to! With 2 kids 5 and under, working remotely, managing a renovation, and living away from home – life has been a lot to handle, to say the least.

I hope regardless of what is happening in the world today, you’re happy and staying healthy. Thanks for sticking with us!

Becky

A Smied Baby – Round Two!

Posted on March 5, 2020

Do you remember when I posted about our house growing, and how I got a lot of comments from people asking “wait, does this mean your family is growing?” and I said “noooooooo!”?

That was a lie. Sorry!

It was too early to announce then, but here it is: Baby Smied #2 is due to arrive at the end of August! We are relieved the secret is out – the first trimester is tough when you’re feeling nauseous, exhausted, in shock, and can’t tell anyone. Now that we’re through that, we’re excited to document the rest of the pregnancy. Isla is so, SO excited to be a big sister – and we can’t wait to meet this little one who will complete our family.

I found out the week before Christmas, so this Etsy onesie was perfect to surprise Jeremy. I of course can’t keep a secret and spilled the beans before it even shipped, but it’s cute nonetheless.

This was one of those planned, but also totally unplanned situations. We’d been talking about trying, and thinking it would take the better part of a year like it did with Isla. Well friends, apparently once you’ve been pregnant once, your uterus is basically like I KNOW THE WAY, and boom. Surprise!

How am I feeling?
As of right now, almost 4 months along, I’m just about back to normal. The first trimester sucks, but so far this one has been easier overall than my first pregnancy. With Isla, I was nauseous all day for about a month straight. I hated everyone, and food – it was miserable. Once my energy and appetite came back, I wanted ALL THE CARBS.

With this pregnancy, I was only really nauseous when I let myself get too hungry, or too full. I generally felt the worst in the timeframe after dinner until bed, which worked out great because it didn’t interfere with work. That really only lasted 3 weeks, and I was able to manage it pretty well with little snacks throughout the day instead of big meals.

Now that the nausea has passed, my energy levels are off the charts compared to pre-pregnancy, and I’m hungry ALL the time. The weirdest part? I crave red meat – I was concerned that this might be related to low iron levels, but testing showed they’re totally normal – this baby just wants greasy burgers and steaks. Every pregnancy is different!

With this being my second time around, my belly is already unmistakably out there – I haven’t been able to button my pants for a few weeks. With Isla, it wasn’t until about 16-17 weeks before I looked definitely pregnant rather than just a taco bell enthusiast. This time, it was about 13 weeks when there just wasn’t any hiding it anymore, although I’ve gained the same amount that I did by this time with Isla.

Are you finding out what you’re having?
We are doing the same as we did with our first pregnancy and leaving the gender a surprise until birth.

Does Isla know?
Yes! We waited until 12 weeks to tell her, because she loves to talk and we knew that she would tell everyone. She is really excited to be a big sister, but changes her mind every few days as to whether it’s a baby boy or girl. We’ll find out soon enough!

For those of you with 2+ kiddos – what were your favorite “big sister” books? I’m trying to find some for Isla, so she has a better understanding before the baby is born.

Now we’re really scrambling to figure out our renovation timeline – with this baby on the way, we need the extra room more than ever! Thanks for following along with us on this crazy journey – stay tuned!

Family

I’m baaaaaaack…

Posted on August 22, 2019

Did you think I abandoned the blog? You were right.

Last year was challenging, busy, and full of life changes. Transitioning into being the parent of a happy little toddler to the parent of an adorable but completely irrational two-year-old. I also started a new job, working for the employer I’d been trying to get hired by for years – and I’ve spent the better part of the last year learning my new role.

With all of that being said, I’m sure you understand where I went. Life has been busy, and blogging is a big time commitment – so this place was put on the back burner.

Now that things have calmed a bit (not the irrational toddler part – we’re officially approaching threenager status), I feel like I have more time to come back here and share a little bit more of what’s been going on with us. While originally this was a DIY blog, this space will transition into more of a middle of the road home/family blog. A place where we can share what we’ve been up to, as well as all the love we’re still pouring into our old farmhouse. We’re planning a major renovation in the next year, so that’s exciting!

I guess I just came to say I’m still here, and if you’re still reading – thanks.

Family Pregnancy/Baby

Mini 2 Class at Goldfish Swim School

Posted on August 31, 2018

This post is brought to you by Goldfish Swim School. While I was provided lessons in exchange for this review, all opinions are 100% my own.

Can you believe summer is almost over? The weather says otherwise, but I’m seeing back to school and Halloween (!) items everywhere in stores…so I know fall is coming.

I don’t want to name drop, but yes. ELMO is in our class!

This summer has been a whirlwind of fun. Our little lady is learning so quickly, is super curious about everything, and always on the go. We’ve really just been trying to keep up, and wear her out with fun outside activities, trips to the splash pad on the weekends, and our favorite: swim class at Goldfish Swim School of Ann Arbor!

Not having any fun at all.

Yep, we’re back and having so much fun! Last year Isla completed her Mini 1 classes, which got her comfortable in the water. At 16 months, the little ones move into the Mini 2 class, where we start focusing on the mechanics of swimming unassisted.

High fives with her teacher!

Classes have a 6:1 student-to-teacher ratio, with more focus on unassisted kicking with a barbell, pulling paddle, underwater dips, unassisted gliding, wall holds, jumping in the water, rollover breathing, back floats, – plus more water safety skills.

I’ve talked about water safety before in previous Goldfish posts (you can read them here, here, and here), but after reading about Bode & Morgan Miller’s daughter last month I’m even more vigilant about water safety.

In the 4 weeks that we’ve been back in the Mini 2 class, Isla has progressed to kicking and pulling on her own, almost reflexively which is so impressive! We’ve noticed her practicing these skills in the shallow pool at the local splash pad pool here, she knows to keep her mouth closed and head above water. Obviously none of these things replace close, constant supervision…but it’s a step in the right direction.

Jeremy and I are still switching off who gets to get in the water with her each class, since it is a lot of fun. On top of the safety skills we’re learning, we often end up laughing a lot – it is great bonding time.

We’re enjoying watching her continue to progress, and have fun!

If you’re looking for swim lessons for your water babies (or big kids), you can find a local Goldfish Swim School at their center locator, and more information below:

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Have you had an awesome experience at Goldfish Swim School? Would love to hear your stories in the comments!

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