Mom and Dad I'm back!

Moving in with parents when you have already left home

These are my parents. They were kind enough to let us move in with them to save some money.

I have been wanting to do this blog post for a while and even while I was living there I wrote down things I liked and maybe didn't like about moving back in. 

I want to share my experience because I feel a lot of young (and maybe not so young) 

people are doing this to save some money. 

Would I recommend it? Bottom line yes. 

You do save a ton of money not only in rent but if you share food together its much easier there as well.

But for how long? That is where it totally depends. 

Maybe a list of pros and cons will help? And two different scenarios.

I want to do the cons first because I like ending on a happy note. 

Cons:

Privacy

Dual Parenting

Family Drama

Those are really it. I think the biggest problem was the "dual parenting". My parents want to be grandparents. And rightly so. They want to spoil him and not have to discipline him. Which is fine when you visit your family on weekends but when you have grandparents and grandkids together everyday you can't have this. 

It was definitely hardest on me. Thayne literally hated me while we lived there. I did the disciplining and all the other things he did not like. It really hurt me. 

It also made me not like my mom because Thayne liked her better (sounds silly but have your only child hate you and you will know what I mean)

Which then hurt our relationship.  

BUT 

I do have a friend living with her parents and she has a daughter about the same age as Thayne. 

She loves living at home because her parents help with the parenting.

Its all about if you can handle some conflicting opinions and work through it.

I also think that if both you and your spouse are working then these are eliminated. 

My parents were home most the time with me and probably is what was so hard.

Onto the Pros:

First of all you save money

Reconnect with family-my sister is a senior and there is a 6 year gap and it was great to re-get-to-know her.

Get help with children

Family Meals Together- something I always enjoy

Able to do more things

We had a lot of fun with my family. They like to do a lot of things and invited us to be apart of it. 

For instance; boating, going to the gym, doing races, going skiing, ect.

We were able to do baby swap and spend time together and doing things we loved. 

I really felt like I re met my family I enjoyed being close (we still live close). 

Overall it was a great experience and we are so grateful we were able to do it. 

To make living at home work for you I would set everything up before you get there. 

If you have children the rules you have for them. 

Privacy rules like if our bedroom door is closed and its after 9:00pm DON'T OPEN THE DOOR

(apparently this was a rule that had to be said)

Things like that. I think the less you are at the home the easier it is to stay longer. We did six months and that worked out perfect for us. I love my family and again am so grateful we got to live with them. 

I am even more grateful that they still love us and try to come visit as much as they can.

Have you considered moving back in with mom and dad to save money? 

Thrifting for decor and 30 weeks!!!

I went to hobby lobby the other day...

I didn't even know where to start because I wanted to see everything! 

As Thayne and I were walking through he wanted to check out the cool pottery. 

As he was checking the pottery, I noticed the price tag. Upon noticing the price tag I quickly moved

Thayne into a cart. I got some inspiration but didn't buy anything. 

Here are some of my DI finds and I think I will stick to getting decor from there. 

Thank you hobby lobby.

Red basket for remotes. Remotes need a home too. I got this basket for .50 cents.

So this is a decor/ functional item (well most of my decor is)

but not only that it is part of my trying to get rid of my microwave movement. It has been 5 days since last microwave use... That post will come later.

Red Kitchen-Aid Kettle $4.00 to buy new? $40.00 was the best deal I could find. I seriously had a 

lady at DI approach me and try to talk me out of it so she could buy it. 

It had some hard water build up so I used some vinegar to clean it up. Works/looks great.

This is Thayne's $1.00 "jeep" ya nothing to do with decor but he loves it. 

Ok here is the pinterest inspired decor. Get cheap things from the thrift store and spray paint it.

Here is our horse. 

Here is our horse after spray paint.

Everyone is doing the white (which I actually tried to do.) But apparently $1.00 spray paint from home depot is at that price for a reason. It didn't work. My silver spray paint worked like a charm. 

Don't buy cheap spray paint NOT worth it.

30 WEEKS!!!

Holy smokes this pregnancy is flying. My doctor had to remind me that I am 3/4 done. 

Freaked me out a little so not ready!

Here is the bump...

Teenage girl shots (I totally hate these but Adam is very, very busy...)

I didn't look big enough in the other picture so here is a bare belly shot. YUCK. 

Last night I had heart burn so bad I think I slept 2 hours? Maybe 3-4. I felt awful. 

I am going to try to eat more bland foods and see if that helps. 

I can't run anymore (so uncomfortable) so I have opted for the very modified version of P90X than I 

don't have to go to the gym. I do like doing the elliptical when I get a chance. Oh and

I did Zumba that was super fun (but hard!!!) 

I crave chocolate, soup, pasta, mashed potatoes, ramen,  very much comfort food, and gag when I 

eat raw veggies (how sad is that?).

Interview time

Adam applied to vet school clear back in September. 

He applied technically to Washington State. 

Utah State has partnered up with Washington to be able to get more students into vet school. 

What does that mean?

Well, it means that we are here for two years then off to Washington State for the last two. 

Just last month we heard that Adam had an interview for this month!

He just did it yesterday! Oh my goodness! 

What was it like? 

Well it sounds like there is a panel of vets who decide if you are man/woman enough 

to make it through vet school. 

They like to ask about your chemistry... 

They also like to ask you questions about specific vet issues.

They also want to know how you are going to pay for vet school (seriously? student loans!) 

So glad the interview part is over. Now we have to wait two weeks to hear back from them!!! UGHHHH!!!

I got to go to a mix and mingle type of social with Adam last night. 

While there you get to talk to students who are working on their first year of vet school, professors, and vets. 

It was interesting to talk to different people going into the same professions with completely different plans. I learned last night there are vets who specialize in fish. I had no idea. 

They also had a question and answer session for those who are interested in vet school and those already in attendance. A wife raised concern about how students manage to juggle everything. 

It sounds like none of the vet students work and that their spouses do (poor Adam) 

so they put in the time they need to study and try very hard to be done at 5:00 every day 

just like a job. The weekends they try to focus on family time and fun. 

Meanwhile back in Washington we have friends who are at vet school there and the husband is going to vet school and working two jobs... he is also someone who doesn't need a lot of study time. 

Everyone is so different. I know that vet school will be doable and I know that it will take a chunk of time but so does work. We can't wait to hear back and see what our next step will be. 

A real apartment

Welcome to a quick tour of my home. 

Its not a house. I can't paint the walls, I can't change the layout, I can't really hang too much on the walls either.

But what I can do is make it fun, work, and look super cute. 

I have been trying to get ideas of apartment decor online, but everything seems to be a studio 

apartment that they revamp and can paint everything. 

I thought I'd do a post about a real apartment with real decor problems. 

I am in love with the idea of living with less but there is a balance

that I find myself struggling with. Which is what in the world to keep and 

what to get rid of. 

Is it this time of year or is it just because I moved that I want to organize so bad?

Is anyone else feeling it? 

Our apartment is a spacious 2 bedroom (approx. 1,100 square feet) 

We have a laundry area (which you will NOT be seeing today)

2 bathrooms (so spoiled I know) 

Here is the master bath which holds 95% of all bathroom things because Thayne can 

get into the cabinet in the other one. 

When we first moved in I immediately noticed a HUGE storage problem the only storage that 

came with the apartment is that vanity which has two teeny tiny drawers. Can you see them? So we went out and got this beauty...

I know its not much. But it is so functional and holds so MUCH!

P.S. I got it from Wal-mart and also the shower curtain which brings some life and color into this otherwise very white bathroom. Too bad no one ever sees this bathroom.

Still have our robes hanging on the back door.

All our bathroom "stuff" fits in here. I wont show you the nitty gritty details of the cupboards yet...

(Give me a break we haven't even lived here a month yet)

But here is a very helpful thing when organizing a bathroom: remember that you have too much.

Seriously! I had about 10 different bottles of lotion when we moved here and I thought I was doing good. Most were on the emptier side of life. Here is a little solution for that.

This is my travel kit. We go on weekend trips and long trips all the time. This is so handy 

because all I have to grab as far as bathroom supplies when we leave town is our glasses, toothbrushes, and razors because I have everything else that we could possibly need ready to go. 

I highly suggest getting one together. For the lotion problem... 

See those bottles I have out? I just did a lotion collection bottle, a shampoo one, ect. All those

hotel ones I kept "just in case" were driving me crazy and almost empty bottles that I 

couldn't throw away. Less things, more easy to find what you actually need, more organized. Trust me its a beautiful cycle. 

Out of the master bathroom you will find our room... its long and narrow. 

We put our desk in here so Adam can study uninterrupted by me and Thayne.

We also downsized most our office stuff. That was so wonderful. Before we had 

a wall of a desk and somehow we filled it with stuff. Love this desk so much better.

Haven't gotten everything up on the walls yet. But we hung the curtains. 

Curtains help so much in making a place feel like home. 

Not very exciting but my nightstand.

My ikea organizer I am using for my favorite scarves.

Blah these pictures of the closet didn't turn out so hot. I will have to retake some later...

Yes I know we are spoiled by a huge walk in.

ikea baskets for our sweaters, snow gear.

My "nice" shoes aka not enough room out front to hold these ones.

better picture of the desk in our room. Adam keeps it nice and clean. 

This is my kitchen... its tiny. Look close at all the cabinets. where in the world is there space for food? 

Ta-da! This shelving unit is my open pantry. Its not perfect, Martha Stewart would probably not approve but it works for us. I hold extra appliances on top and then have some baskets that I hold like things. I have a ikea step stool to help me reach everything and also so Thayne can help in the kitchen. I choose cream colored baskets because I can use them through out the whole house. Then I can buy the same type of baskets and not have to worry about it not matching a different room if I take it out. 

My kitchen island (wal-mart) also helps with my lack of counter space and storage. I keep most my baking supplies in there. I also managed to squeeze some fold out chairs for extra company. 

I no longer have a knife block (don't have room) I use this ikea magnetic strip to hold my cutting knives and they are very much out of Thayne's reach. 

  

Our entryway. Shoe racks are the way to go. I have our most commonly used coats out. 

See the baskets? They work everywhere.

Here is a room that still has a lot of work. Where the love sac is, is where the desk was. I am going to have to probably rearrange and get another chair to make this room work. Another ikea buy is the entertainment center. Again I am not doing any close ups yet... 

I need to figure out how to decorate the book cases better.

Well thats our apartment so far. I have been learning lots about apartment living. This will be my 6th year of apartment living. With hopefully only 3 more to go. I am enjoying the simplified lifestyle and 

feel like I have plenty of room. We will see when baby #2 comes along. 

I will have to show Thayne's room off another day. He is sleeping like an angel and I am enjoying the blogging time :)

Happy New Year!

I started off this year thinking, "wow January is a big month".

Then I got thinking about everything that will be happening this year and decided that this

is going to be a BIG year!

Thayne will turn 2, Adam finds out if he gets into vet school (and hopefully starts this year), 

Garett returns home from a mission, Lauren graduates high school and hopefully comes to school

at Utah State. 

Along with the big events are small events each month Thayne and I are working on

him sleeping in his big boy bed...

Naps he is doing great! But night time well he just doesn't want to go to sleep. I read something about 

18month old sleep regression. Anyone else experienced an outta wack toddler?

I did set new year resolutions but they are pretty personal. I'm already in a habit of exercising, I am always trying to eat better... ok so maybe I had a tiny bit of cream cheese brownie for breakfast. It was a rough night last night.

This year I am trying to do better at setting monthly and weekly goals. I call it my "What I want to accomplish this week... month... list"

So far so good. It helps me survive stressful times. 

I have to tell you about a failed craft...

Here lies a great 18 month old snow suit. Problem? 

Its pink. Thayne is a boy and I want all our snow gear navy so its easy to match and goes both ways. We recieved it from some very kind souls who 

claim they are done having children. I thought I could just dye it. (I dye my own hair why not right?)

My mum tried to warn me saying it could turn purple. I figured it was just light enough that it probably wont... guess what?!?!?

It's very purple. I tried the navy blue dye and this is the result. I then tried a black dye that made it even darker purple. Needless to say I have given up and given in and bought Thayne a navy snow suit. If you see this one at your DI you know what happened. 

As far as Us... Adam is amazing at handling stress and luckily its rubbed off on me a little bit.

He has his interview for vet school Jan 22. 

We are both learning that student loans are harder to obtain than we thought. (bills are coming!)

Adam has to retake a class but USU doesn't offer it this semester so he has to take it online.

Taking him from 12 credits to 16. 

He stays calm through it all. Which helps me stay calm. 

It might sound crazy but I know that we are doing what the Lord wants so it will all work out. 

It might be super hard, but it will work out.

Our Christmas Traditions

First of all Merry Christmas!

For those of you I said I would send an ecard I started one... but it didn't turn out so hot.

Blogging is much better :) I figured it was pretty easy to see what we are up to via old posts.

 

This Christmas we were blessed to have both sides of the family together!

The only person we were missing was Garett but we got to skype him on Christmas day.

 

I thought I would share what a typical Christmas looks like in our neck of the woods.

 

It isn't Christmas without some gingerbread houses. Mum has actually bought a mold to make it that much easier.

I can remember her having a pattern that she made up and she had to cut up every little piece.

When its time for Christmas at my home I will also be buying a mold!

 

So glad that Mum and Dad Hassell could join in, we all had a lot of fun!

 

Adam building his axe yard. I forgot to get finish product pictures... got to busy with my own gingerbread house.

Christmas Eve...

Instead of reading Luke 2 (think about toddler attention span)

we acted it out with puppets my mum made when we were kids.

Thayne more interested in the camera than the puppet show.

She had an inn-keeper, Joseph, Mary, Mary with baby...

angel...

sheperds with sheep...

...oh ya and of course being pregnant i got nominated to be Mary...

...wise men...

 

everyone gets to participate! During our little program we sing songs. Someday (when Garett and Lauren

start having children) I hope to act out the nativity with the little cuties!

 

Usually after this we get to open one gift but this year we opted out. (I think we were afraid Thayne would open all the gifts!)

 

 

 

Christmas morn!

After eating a yummy breakfast, and skyping Elder Griffith we opened our stockings

and got everyone together to open gifts.

 

Thayne was the center of attention. He wanted to help everyone else open their gifts and this is the only one

of his that he actually opened!

Mama Hassell made us all aprons! The boys have matching ones! Now I will get lots of help right?

Thayne's favorite gift was tinsel. He didn't even care about anything else. He is such a easy going guy!

 

The best part about Christmas is a tradition my mum started.

She keeps a box wrapped in gift wrap empty with a hole on the top. The hole is just

big enough to slide pieces of paper through. The gift is marked To Jesus. Every year she encourages us

to think of something we can give to the Savior.

This year she made it like a new years resolution gift. She had us all write down gifts to the Savior

then next year she is going to give it back to us for us to do a self evaluation.

She had us put our "gifts" in seperate envelopes (don't worry she wont ever know what we put!)

 

I hope you had a great Christmas! We sure did!

Its a....

Today we had an ultra sound what we learned at the ultra sound...

I am 19 weeks along but measure 17 weeks

I measured small with Thayne so this isn't really surprising.

We learned that baby is very flexible and is practically bent in half.

We learned the gender...

Get your dresses ready! Cause its a GIRL!!!!!

We are very excited. She doesn't move around a whole lot 

(which I'm hoping will carry over to after birth)

We haven't thought of any names yet but we figure we have plenty of time to figure all that out.

Due date is still April 8th at this point in time.