But first... a nursery.

I've been wanting to share pictures of the nursery for quite some time, and now that I've started my master's courses for the summer I needed something to do that would help me procrastinate from working on school work. Bingo! Blog post! :)

So, here are some before and after shots panning around Eliana's room. I should make note... I ABSOLUTELY love how it turned out. :)

(click on pictures for larger image)

sidenote: the stuffed animal owls and blanket hanging on the side of the crib are just for show. When she goes to use her crib I will remove them. Safety first. :)

Later this week I'll post more details on the special projects like her closet made from a bookshelf, the letters of her name wrapped in twine, and the wall mural!!!

Stay tuned. :)

32 weeks update!

So here's where we're at! 32 weeks down, 8 to go...
Exciting things are happening!

How far: 32 weeks, 2 days  :)  (every day counts at this point)

Baby Stuff: Eliana weighs about 4lbs. this week and is the size of a large jicama! (Almost 17in.)

Newest Body Changes: Not a fan of the newest aches and pains... I've had 3 little Braxton Hicks contractions that didn't really phase me, but the biggest pain in the butt pelvis is the random cramps while I'm laying down. Sleeping hasn't been going great lately only because I have to heave my overly large body into a new position every hour or so to prevent sharp pains. Lately it's been even worse because I've had a flu-like sickness this week. I have to sleep with my upper body elevated to alleviate the wheezing that occurs. I have a smoker's cough that could rival a life-long addict! Seriously. If it didn't hurt so darn bad to cough I would be impressed by it.

Cravings: Still nothing intense... we did have a minor situation about three weeks ago when I craved a Wendy's Frosty. Jeff works right next to a Wendy's and I called him before his shift ended, suggesting he stop and get me a Frosty. Typically he would be super stoked that I suggest such an unhealthy food choice (since usually I'm the voice of reason). Well, this time he wasn't so supportive and I played it off all cool. "No big deal, hunny. It was just a thought. See you soon." And then it happened. My world started to disintegrate around me. I sunk into a deep depression. This was not your run-of-the-mill "hungry for a certain food" kind of feeling. It was a legitimate craving, which I had denied my body. Big mistake. I turned into Heid-zilla (hehe). Poor Jeff. After he got home and I explained to him the gravity of the situation he said, "Well I'll never make that mistake again." We were able to smile at each other by bedtime, but it was definitely intense in the Varner household that night.

Current freak out: None! I am so calm, it's kind of crazy. Jeff and I started baby classes last week. So far we've learned about the birthing process and breastfeeding. Next two weeks are Baby Boot Camp and hospital registration class. Yeehaw! I'm loving all the information. It makes me feel much more in control.

Exciting news:
     1- Eliana's head is down! No more breech baby! (Doc said once they go head down it's very rare that they would flip around again.)
     2- Nursery is coming along!!! Last weekend I built the crib and the changing table!!!!

This little bouncer seat was FREE from one of Jeff's regular customer's who wanted to bless us!! 

Changing table

Crib :)

Oh, and there's a free pack n' play stashed in the corner we got from a friend. This one will most likely stay at my parent's so that's one less thing we'll need to bring when we visit.

    

Hello 25 weeks, we're moving along so fast!

I'm sitting here feeling Eliana kick around as I type. What an incredible feeling....


How far:  25 weeks.

Baby stuff: Eliana is about 13.5in long this week. Her lungs are developing to prepare for her first breath of fresh air. Also, she's starting to be able to sense up and down! Aww, my little girl!!!!!!

Newest Body Changes: Belly is getting bigger- actually had a stranger officially know I was pregnant this week!!! (Not just assume I ate too much for dinner last night). Also had to start wearing Jeff's t-shirts to bed. My size smalls are officially out of the question. Oh, and hello heartburn. Yeah, never experienced this before in my life until this week. It's new and I'm not a fan. Tums are nice.

Craves: Auntie Anne's pretzels (we actually left the house at 8:30pm to hit up a mall that was 30 minutes away last week), Fried pickles w/ ranch, Peanut butter (seriously, check my Pinterest account)- oh, and as far as peanut butter is concerned I would be quite content just sitting around smelling it. I wonder if there are peanut butter scented candles... (ANSWER: There are. I just checked Amazon) :) Last minute Christmas idea!!!!

Gross: Plain chicken breast (seriously, gag me.), even THE THOUGHT of Frank's Red Hot Sauce. Eww. Just typing that made me cringe.

Current freakout: 15 weeks to go and the so-called nursery is still our closet/creativity room. There is a lot of painting, moving, switching, decorating, etc. to be done.

Note to self: should probably find some baby furniture and schedule maternity pictures!

Funny story: Every time I read over this post to proofread/made edits just reading the Frank's Red Hot Sauce part made me nauseated. Darn you hot sauce!




Also- I apologize, I don't have any new exciting pictures to update with... but if you'd like to see my cute little baby bump we should probably meet up and hang out! (Especially because I have the next 16 days off of work for Christmas break!!)

Pinch me.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm dreaming, my life is just so beautiful... God has blessed me beyond belief. This morning as I was making breakfast for the boys I gazed  into the living room. Avery was putting together a Mario Bros. puzzle he got at a yard sale yesterday for $0.10 (woo!) and Jeff was reading the Sunday paper in his jammies with Transformers playing in the background on the TV.

I couldn't help but just smile. Smile at the peace of knowing I'm right where God wants me to be.

As the sizzling bacon brought me back to reality, I turned to the stove still smiling, thinking to myself, "How can this be real?" I don't deserve it. That's the beauty of God. He turns wreckage into gold and I'm just so grateful to be where I am today.

A couple of minutes later Avery pulled me off to the side and we had a "secret" pow-wow behind the couch all crouched down, and he asked me when we should give his dad the Father's Day gift we made. I told him it was up to him and in his little whisper voice he said, "I think now's a good time." I love that he wanted my opinion on the matter. :)

So- we got to surprise Jeff with the poster we made yesterday. And, of course, there were tears. (Success.)

 

Avery and I brainstormed all of the things that Jeff loves to do, and how we contributes to our family. We went around and photographed everything and then hooked up the camera to our Panasonic instant printer (which prints onto 2"x3" sticker prints)- perfect for our project.

Pictures: mowing the lawn, chubbing the cats, pouring coffee, holding his dad's golf clubs, basketball, shaving, baseball, chugging hot sauce, gearing up for a Nerf war, family time, holding all of the Batman movies (Jeff's hero), reading his Bible, scooping crap out of the litter box, and lastly- dressed up in all of Jeff's Cowboys gear

It's pretty awesome. :)

What a beautiful life we have. Praise God!

My Magic Pot

Any one familiar with this little beauty???

If there was only one Pampered Chef item that I could live with for the rest of my life, it would be this one. This puppy is a crockpot on steroids. Cooks whole chickens in the microwave in 25 minutes. Yeah, you heard me.

My famous (famous, meaning my husband tells EVERYONE about it) meat loaf. 20 minutes. Microwave.

Molten lava cake. 10 minutes. Microwave.

You don't have one. You need it.

www.pamperedchef.biz/thevarners   Click it. You won't regret it.



That being said.... I made this

tonight.

After prepping... 5 minutes in the microwave. PERFECTION.

There's certain things in life that make me feel like a pro. wife. Cooking stellar meals is one of them. Especially when they're super simple and taste great.


Another thing is going to bed with a clean sink. Both of these things are happening tonight thanks to this meal.


Like a boss.

Introducing "Felix"

So excited about our new addition to the family!!

Jeff and I were waiting for our income tax refund check to help with the down payment on a new vehicle. I've been driving a '94 Honda Civic (named Trevor) since I was 17... and he has 265,000 miles on him right now... with driving about 100 miles a day total with my commute to work and back, I needed something more reliable.

After comparing vehicles for over a month, I settled on the Mazda 3 Hatchback. I was looking for a 4-door vehicle with the prospect of expanding our family at some point in the future. The Mazda 3 suits my style, and it's just super amazing in every way I can possibly think of.

Perks: heated seats, sun roof, Sirius radio (free for 90 days), in-car bluetooth, navigation system built-in, cute spoiler, low profile tires, dual heating/cooling controls for both passengers, gas efficiency screen, back seat folds down completely flat, keyless start...... and the list goes on. :D

I'm very pampered in my new car.

~A proud owner

The One With All the D-I-Y projects

So, with Christmas this year (read: Christmas over a month ago)- I decided to be super crafty and make gifts for the people I am closest to. Also, with a lack of money- it just seemed like the way to go. Win win.

Over the past four or so years I've become that person. The one who's goal is to make you cry when you open your gift. I've been quite successful over the years.

Here are this year's endeavors:

   -niece, Brooklyn: (age 2) a Dora the Explorer felt board
   -brother and sister-in-law: a shadowbox frame with a scrapbook page and a cute family photo I took
   -mom: her favorite bible verse embroidered into a rustic-looking fabric, then framed
   -dad: stylish pictures of his Harley (which he adores), framed for his man cave

The results:

Dora the Explorer Feltboard

 

So it all started with white and blue felt... and I hot glued it to an old canvas I had lying around.

 

A rolling snowscape.

 

 I made Dora with tan felt, then glued brown felt on for the hair. Her mouth and nose are written on with a fine-point sharpie. The eyes were white felt- then I used Crayola markers to make brown eyes with black pupils. Easy peezy.
I made 2 outfits-- her typical pink shirt, orange shorts, and yellow socks. And then I also made a cute purple snowsuit (with sparkly purple felt accents), and pink gloves, scarf, and boots!

 

Snowman (three individual circles)- I traced around a cup, a gladware container, and a bowl... oh- and I used sparkly white felt to offset it from the plain white snow background.

 

Here's all the pieces laid out on the table

 

And here's everything sticking to the feltboard as I hold it up.

**Gift was a huge success- I put all the pieces in ziploc baggies and wrapped the board separately. When Brook opened it she saw the pieces and knew it was Dora instantly and also knew to put a snowman togethe with the sparkly white circles. **

Very cool. 

 Framed Scrapbook Page

Simple- "And now these three things remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love."

Bible verse Embroidery

 

Romans 8:28 embroidered with black thread...

 

Man Cave Art

-I'm happy with all of my products! Also, Operation: Make Someone Cry was a success. And of all people, it was my dad who got teary-eyed. Aww :)  He sure does love his bike.

Our New Furbies!! (Fur babies)

Things with the housing loan- apparently due to my excessive school loans, I couldn't be approved for enough $$. Which is fine- so, we're moving on to Plan B! (save money/pay off debt) I've been working on my financial binder (more updates to follow).

In the meantime- we decided if we couldn't get our own place then maybe we could talk to our landlords about their no pet policy. We've been renting our house for a year now and have a great rapport with them (they even got us a Sheetz gift card for Christmas!). So we made the call last Friday and Saturday we got the OK!

So this week our family got 8 paws and 2 tails bigger! 

Meet Nala. She's so teeny!!! Definitely the runt of the batch. 

 And this is Vito. I think he's part sloth. haha... actually, they're both quite rambunctious (+5 points for me using a big word like that)

 At the end of the day... they love each other. Brother and Sister.... so cute <3

Welcome to the Varner family, Nala and Vito!

So prepare to see endless pictures of my new babies. Afterall, I'm a proud parent now. :)

*Soon to come, camping pictures- my newest sand sculpture*

Varner Family Planner (Part 1)

Yesterday I woke up thinking, "I have nothing to do today."

And then I stumbled upon this beaut: The Nest Effect

After drooling a bit, I scoured my office/scrapbooking supplies I realized I have everything I needed on hand to create such a masterpiece (except a 3-hole punch)...


I spent the better part of the day going through all my scrapbook papers finding scraps that would work together to create a purty cover that would slip in the clear pouch on the front.

Success?

I think yes.

I also researched a few other family planner/binders online and made 5 of my own sections. A lot of people have a section for meal planning and grocery lists but I already have a system set up for that.







 So my sections are as follows:

*Calendar/Planner (also lists birthdays/anniversaries)

 *Budget (breading down our spending into subcategories and what bills are paid with which paychecks (isn't organization BEAUTIFUL?!)

 

*Bills/Expenses (lists when bills are due w/ contact information)

 

*Debt/Savings plan (based off of Dave Ramsey's teaching)

 

*Cleaning/Projects (monthly cleaning tasks and DIY projects I would like to attempt)

Here are the calendars I made up for the rest of the year... and a list of months' days for birthday/anniversary lists...

 

I ended up checking Facebook to find all my friends/families' birthdays in one convenient spot!

So, there's what I have so far. Many more forms and pictures to come. :)

We Came. We Saw. We Loved.

Jeff and I went to tour a house this past week. I don't want to get too excited yet, I'm still working on getting the pre-qualification for the housing loan.

It was just simply perfect.

3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, hardwood floors, cute kitchen, sweet deck, 3/4 of an acre of land, tiger lillies galore, and trees that line the property. 

What's not to love, right??


So, here's the plan. Jeff and I are praying pretty hardcore about this. Last week we did some fasting, and talked to God about the situation. We're asking for His hand in it. If we get approved for a loan, and the house is still availabe, we're going for it! (Woah!) If we're denied for whatever reason we're going to stay where we are for another year and  save $$$! So either way it's a win.

Of course, having tons of free time while I'm on vacation all summer... I've been pinning on Pinterest like a busy little beaver!

Current Loves:

Coral and Aqua. I'm thinking of incorporating these colors into the dining room.

Yellow and Grays. Master bedroom.

I can't stop meditating on this verse:

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."
Psalm 37:4

It's so beautiful how our God wants to bless us. Jeff and I have recently been given the opportunity to host Bible Study at our house the past two weeks for the Men's Freedom House (click link) and it's been incredible. We'd love to give God the glory for a new home with even more space and opportunity to host events.

Please feel free to pray with us!

Housewife Diary (Part 1)

So, obviously one of the perks of being a teacher is having my summer off. As of Saturday I was blessed with 65 days of freedom.



What am I going to do with myself?!?!!?

Well. Step 1- release my inner housewife.

My husband posted on facebook this weekend "I think my wife is a superhero when I'm not around. Where does she hide the costume?"  hehehe... what a sweetheart. Here's the story behind it:
Saturday I went yardsaling (that's my typical Saturday AM ritual). I scored a working push lawnmower for $10! So, I hauled it home in my champ-of-a-94 Honda Civic named Trevor. I lifted it out of my trunk. Filled it with gas. Sported by bikini top (might as well get some sun if I'm gonna mow, right?). And took off. My husband got home and saw the neighbor mowing his lawn and walked over and thanked him for mowing ours as well when the neighbor smiled and informed him that in fact, it was ME that did it. Yep- yours truly, wife-of-the-year.

Yesterday, by 10:30am the house was clean (vaccuumed, swept, dusted), the dishes were handwashed, dried, and put away. The wash was dried, folded, and put on its respective dressers. And I did a Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred workout. 

 I got smart and did the dishes last night before going to bed... so literally... all I have to do today is go over our budget and find out how much money we have to put toward a house payment. Sneak peak: The house hunt begins tonight at 5:30pm! First house tour! We're totally stoked!

Time to get some more housewife stuff accomplished! Maybe I'll find something that needs reorganized!!!!!!!!



 

Faux hawk fun. :)

Here's the latest news!

Only 2 school days left with the students, then 3 teacher in-service days... and then it's officially summer vacay!

Since my school is adventure-based and I teach middle school boys- my coworkers are primarily males. A few of them decided to come into school the other week with mohawks.

And since I am awesome, I decided to try my hand at hawking my hair as well. I spent my morning today researching various youtube videos on how to create a faux hawk.

Here is the outcome of my labor.

Needless to say. I'm stoked for work tomorrow. :)


p.s. I love my job. (Yellow Breeches Educational Center)

All work and no play makes Heidi a dull girl.

So, I'll just come out and say it. Jeff and I both love Nerf guns. As a matter of fact I came home yesterday from work to find him laying outside soaking up some sun and I got a Nerf gun and chased him around the yard.

We have quite the collection. :)

So, I created a gun rack for them.










That's all.

I was planning on writing more but then the internet took too long to upload that photo... so now I have to go get ready for date night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

'Tis the season.

My favorite time of year is rolling back around... spring... which means YARD SALES!

Last year I scoured yardsales for wedding finds (Yard Sale Beauts). This year it's for our house!

Since we got the house in September (Home Sweet Home) there was one thing I've been dieing to have for our kitchen. Our house has a country feel to it and I thought that a cute little baker's rack would be perfect for the one wall. Unfortunately, prices are about $149 for them. (Not an option.) I was surfing Craigslist last weekend and there was a local yardsale (7 miles away) that said there was a baker's rack for sale. So, I was one of their first customers the next morning.... and guess how much.................

ONLY $10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I moved it in, and filled it with what I had on hand. Above it I have strings with wedding pics held to them with mini clothes pins. Over Christmas it held our Christmas cards :)

Yesterday was a mega-yard sale day with my mom. :)

Here's my winnings:
Spiderman 3 Blu-ray, Prayer of Jabez Book, Make-up purse, Pampered Chef veggie steamer, LEGO TABLE, Black and Decker tool playset (for future children- $1)!!!, 2 crates for the front porch, shorts for my stepson, shirt for me, Nerf board, Home Sweet Home sign, and a hilarious game where you toss bulls and earn points for what position they land in. :)

Grand total........ $18!!!!


Life is good. I love sales. :)

Life is hard.

So, four months into married life. And I can't believe how tough it is!

I've been explaining to friends and family that Jeff and I fell into the "all our problems will be solved when we're finally married" category. haha

See, we did everything before our wedding day: we took classes, we did the homework, he studied the Bible together, prayed together, enjoyed weekly dates, read "10 Great Dates Before I Say I do", took a Financial Peace course, and even waited to have our first kiss on our wedding day.

And now.

Marital bliss still exists, but we've added to the mix: financial drama, work drama, family drama, communication drama, health drama, and spiritual drama.

It's nuts. haha


With that being said, I love my life.

My husband is wonderful. And we're still as in love as ever. Last night we had an awesome Date Night. A friend's neighbor (yeah, that random)- got us a wedding gift of very nice towels. We already have towels for our bathroom so we took them back to Target and scored a sweet $55 to spend on goodies.

And so we bought: DVD's.
*Battlefield: Los Angeles
*Date Night
*Class of the Titans
*Bounty Hunter (not the TV show!)
*Inside Man
*And a 4 pack of thrillers: Seven, Insomnia, Devil's Advocate.... and 1 I forget

We had a blast picking out movies we'd both enjoy and walking hand in hand through the store spending someone else's money. :)

New life.

Ladies~ married life is great!

I just went through the last of the things that are left at my parents' house... including all my wedding planning books, lists, supplies, and left overs. Bittersweet is the word that comes to mind!

It was the perfect day, but so much time went into it that I feel like part of me is missing now! Crazy, huh??

Luckily, I have a lot of other STUFF going on in my life!

I absolutely LOVE being a wife! And I have the new title as step-mom as well! So much fun :)


Today's agenda:
-Our first Christmas tree
-Decorate OUR house
-Watch Christmas Vacation
-Go out for dinner!

p.s. here's more pictures.... because I just love our photography!!!







Ladies~ married life is great!

I just went through the last of the things that are left at my parents' house... including all my wedding planning books, lists, supplies, and left overs. Bittersweet is the word that comes to mind!

It was the perfect day, but so much time went into it that I feel like part of me is missing now! Crazy, huh??

Luckily, I have a lot of other STUFF going on in my life!

I absolutely LOVE being a wife! And I have the new title as step-mom as well! So much fun :)


Today's agenda:
-Our first Christmas tree
-Decorate OUR house
-Watch Christmas Vacation
-Go out for dinner!

p.s. here's more pictures.... because I just love our photography!!!

Ladies!!!! I'm a married woman!! (Without internet access)

:)

I spent an hour on the phone with DirecTV today just to find out that they don't service our area with internet (we're out in the boondocks!)

Anyway- here's a quick few AMAZING preview pictures for you!










Also!!!!! Our wedding preview video!!!!!

Jeff & Heidi Trailer from Jonathan Tirrell on Vimeo.