The Promised Ultrasound Pictures

     I didn't lie in my last post when I said I would take care of scanning ultrasound pictures during Ashley's nap. I really did scan them and touch them up and everything! I just didn't make it as far as posting them on here for all you lovely people who still read my blog. ;) So without further ado, please enjoy Baby Boy Sorensen and all of his naked baby glory. ;)

     And there you have it! I'm nervous posting this picture proving he's really a boy because he's just so *exposed* ya know? I definitely couldn't post it on facebook for the world to see so consider yourselves lucky that you get to see proof. ;) But we're very excited to be having a boy and I'm busy already trying to find a way to put a boy's and girl's room together that doesn't clash haha. Luckily one of Ashley's main colors in her room is bright green so I'm thinking bright green, navy blue, orange, and aqua. I've had no such luck finding anything already made (and let's face it, crib sets are outrageously expensive, it should be against the law to charge so much for something young couples with no money need) so I'm constantly on the lookout for fabrics that have those colors so that I can get sewing and have a cute bedding set ready for him before he gets here. :)

     And just because I haven't posted a picture of my fat self for a while now, here's my 18 week profile the day of the ultrasound. :)

My Closet!

    Now I know I promised ultrasound pictures next but I haven't had the time to scan them in just yet (I'm hoping to knock that off my to-do list during this lovely 3 hour block of time while Ashley's napping!) but I was just so excited about my closet being finished that I had to post the pictures! Keep in mind it's not much because I've got such a small space and no money for a closet system that I'll have to rip out and patch up holes in when we move or else keep here (which I wouldn't be willing to do anyway). And I know the closet isn't small, but my house in general is small which is why non-closet items are stored there. In reality I'm lucky to have this big of a closet and I'm so grateful for it! Now, for the before pictures click here. And here are the afters!

     Like I said, it's not beautiful because I have to have non-closet items in there but I think it's a massive improvement from what it was! I think this would be a lot more dramatic if you had all seen this transformation in person but just know that I am so happy with my newly re-organized closet (and I'm quite happy that I finally had the chance to spray for roaches in there too... makes me feel better about reaching into the corners for those shoes I haven't worn for a while haha). Ashley's closet is almost done, though I've got some big items I need to sell to get them out of the way and then I'm pretty much done! And I promise, ultrasound pictures to come very soon. :)

It's A Boy!

     Yup, definitely a boy! I didn't need an ultrasound tech to tell me he was a boy! Let me just say, he's well endowed and proud of it haha. I'm hoping to scan all of my ultrasound pictures tomorrow and post them here for your viewing pleasure but I'm just too pooped to do it now. I'm afraid if I try my crazed brain will screw it all up and it'll take me twice as long because I'll have to do it over anyway. :) So to all those of you who voted boy, you win! Your prize is to donate to the clothing fund! ;) Just kidding haha. Speaking of clothes, we (that is to say, I) were so excited about finding out we were expecting a boy that we went and bought all of this! (Not gonna lie, the 5 pack of onesies we bought a month ago, you know, just in case, and we're glad we don't have to exchange them haha.)

     Oh, my heart just melts at the thought of our cute little boy on the way. :) Suddenly things seem much more real and I'm a little freaked out, but that's okay! Now we're busing thinking up manly names like Thor, Engine Block, and Sport. Haha, just kidding. We want a manly name but maybe not that manly... :)

More Than I Can Chew?

     So blogged about re-organizing, or I guess putting it into organization for the first time haha, Ashley's closet and I honestly and truly thought it would take a day. And perhaps it would have (I don't think it was too much to ask for) if it wasn't for the fact that my closet looks like this:

      Yup, just as bad or worse than Ashley's. You may be wondering what in the world this has to do with organizing Ashley's closet. Well, all of my crafting supplies are currently in her closet because at the time we moved in, her closet had the most room. This poses a problem when I decide to work on a project while she's napping and I find, to my utter devastation, that I have left everything or at least sometime I really, really need in her closet and I can't get it out or she will wake up (too bad for me, I've got a really light sleeper). So the goal was to move the majority of crafting supplies that I most often get at into my closet to avoid this problem. Naturally this meant I had to re-organize my closet too (which was on the list of things to do, but a little farther down). This lead to needing to get into my storage closet (also in my bedroom) which is smaller and even messier than the other closets (pictures to follow) and so now my house is in complete disarray in my noble attempts to organize my house better so that it's cleaner and easier to clean.
     *Sigh,* looks like it will take me much longer than the weekend to figure this mess out but once it's done I'll have before and after pictures of TWO clean and well organized closets! Yay! Then it will be on to the storage closet... (insert twilight zone music here).

Spring Cleaning

     I had the sudden realization a few nights ago while lying in bed awake and unable to sleep (again), that I've only got about 2 months before we pack up to live in Cedar City, UT for 6 weeks which means I have to get ready for this baby in 2 months, not 4 or 5! We'll be back late July, but at that point I've got one brother coming home from a mission and the next one leaving on a mission, then we'll be visiting the Sorensen clan up in Salt Lake some time in August, plus I'm trying to squeeze in a beach trip somewhere in there which means August will be one busy month and before I know it, September will be upon me and I'll wonder where time flew. At that point I think I'll be too big and too tired to start on any major household projects that need to be done in preparation for Baby #2 (and yes, I've got some major projects...)
     I also have a confession to make. Don't worry, it's not a bad one. In fact, it might be really good actually. I'm obsessed with organization blogs and I stalk quite a few of them to get ideas on how to utilize my small yet happy space. I recently found another organization blog that I've fallen in love with and I think her way of life and organization are the closest to mine that I've found yet. (Yay!) So she's got millions of little ideas that are really going to help me out in my quest to organize (and stay that way).
     I'm not really sure where this organization/clean freak attitude came from but it came about sometime while living with roommates I think. Anyone knowing me growing up knows that I'm a pack-rat, I don't like to get rid of things that I think I might use later (that might have more to do with a tight budget than anything haha) and I'm way too sentimental for my own good which means I end up storing a lot of things that I shouldn't (my old t-shirt I made with my cousins in high school to wear to the midnight selling of the 6th Harry Potter book - do I really need that still? yes... i made it!... with family!...). But alas, this leads to a disorganized home which is the last thing I want. I'm also a big fan of the phrase "a place for everything, and everything in it's place" and I really want to take that to heart in the next few months as I prepare to do a half move and make room for Baby #2 (who's gender we will know in less than a week!).
     Because I need some motivation, and because I'd like to see how far I came once I'm done, I've taken a lot of lovely before pictures so that later I can blog with my before and after shots. I'm ridiculously excited for the after shots. And as nerdy as this sounds, I think I'm really going to enjoy the project. Some projects are the most fun when they're finished, but I think this project is going to be fun for me the whole way through. My only stress point right now is money to buy appropriate storage and I'm going to have to convince Spencer that this is well worth the money (right? Isn't my sanity worth it?) so we'll see how that goes. :)
     I'm going to tackle Ashley's closet first (as much as mine is driving me crazy) because her room is the most important in terms of preparing for the baby. And just so you can get as excited as I am about this whole closet makeover, here's the before shots!

     I know it's bad, don't judge, this is why I'm fixing it. :) And strictly for your viewing pleasure, here is one final picture of my little monkey who has just finished eating, pulverizing and smearing banana in her hair. Gotta love it!

     How could I be mad, right?

Mommy Awards

     I just thought I'd throw it out there that I think there should be mommy awards for certain things. Like today, Ashley threw a monster tantrum because I told her we were having macaroni and cheese for lunch but it had to cook first. You would have thought the world was coming to an end! I calmly put her in her room and told her she could come out when she was done crying and shut the door. It got really quiet (I thought she might have fallen asleep since she was pretty tired) and when lunch was ready I went in to get her. Upon opening the door I saw that she had ripped half the wipes out of the container and had wiped her nose with every single one.
     You would think it's a blessing that a child likes to have her face wiped but at that moment I was not happy. But I did not make a face, I did not yell, I did not swat her hand, I calmly picked her up, strapped her in the high chair and set her up for lunch. Then I went in a re-folded the wipes to put back into the container (I know they're slightly dirty but when money is tight who cares. If she wanted to be cleaned with nice, new wipes then she should have thought about that before throwing them all over the room.) I felt like this was a small victory but worthy of an award nonetheless. My child purposely does things she knows I will get very angry over so that she can feel satisfaction at making me angry (who would have thought this was possible for a not-quite-two-year-old? not me...). By remaining calm and not giving in to anger (which blew over in about 30 seconds, I'm just not usually patient enough to hold it in that long) I won! I won, I won, I won!!! She usually wins. Not gonna lie.
     So anyway, I felt like it was a very small victory in what is going to be a very long battle and I figured any success needs to be acknowledged. ;) I'm excited and I hope the rest of the day goes this well on my end. :)