It seems like this house cannot catch a break when it comes to being sick lately.  First the kidney stones for me, then Dan the man got pneumonia and now we’re going on day 10 with a respiratory infection and ear infection with Owen, and a viral infection with Brody.  Owen missed school all last week, due to breathing treatments and steroids around the clock.  And Brody has been out since Monday.

I’m telling you, with each of these boys having compromised immune systems, each with their own little quirk that fills our mind with doctors appointments and medicines on the daily, keeping them healthy is a chore.  Dan and I are constantly on guard when they get sick, because it always trickles into something else.  A cold isn’t just a cold for Owen, it always turns into breathing treatments and steroid treatments.  And for Brody, a fever and a virus can beat his system up hard enough that his Ulcerative Colitis can relapse.

Not enough baths in the world to keep these kiddos from getting sick, the second they walk back into school its a free for all.  I cannot tell you how much it frustrates me when parents send their kids sick to school – although they may be able to tough through it they may not be aware of the other kiddos in the class that cannot handle even the simplest of illnesses.  So, we march on, finishing up antibiotics and feeling ever so grateful that they are on the mend.

I am just aching for them to get back to school tomorrow.  I’m on day 4 of dirty hair, same leggings from yesterday and have spent the past 10 days strapped to my kids or my computer for work.  I’m officially zombie mom.  But look at these rugrats, even when sick they are awfully cute.

We had a few contractors out these past two days quoting yet another round of outdoor projects, so I am really excited to sit down tonight and spill the beans in a post for tomorrow.  The next few weeks are going to be absolute chaos in our house when it comes to new home decor, doing the nursery and some outdoor plans and I cannot wait to get this all into gear.  We have been aching for the winter months to come to an end! Now if I can only work on not being out of breath after doing three chores around the house, this heavy belly of mine is sure testing my  limits 🙂

So happy hump day you guys! I’m taking this Wednesday as an opportunity to start our week over, with healthier kids and new projects on the horizon.

Hump day = Refresh Day for us.  Time to get it all back together!

Cheers to that !

We have had a staggering, jaw dropping, I nearly fainted amount of new readers who joined us over the weekend.  So, if you are new here, HELLO! And I hope you guys stay a while and join our Thome Home family 🙂

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It’s funny when people ask me what I do for a living, and telling them I am a blogger usually raises eyebrows and even more confusion.  There is definitely a split world out there, those who know and follow blogs, and those who simply do not get it.  Those who do read blogs, and truly keep up with bloggers adore it.  The inspiration, the entertainment, the connections, it’s simply a really neat FREE way to experience all of those things. Those who do not follow blogs just cannot wrap their head around it all.  Who cares what other people are doing, or the blogger who writes about anything and everything.  And don’t even twist their nipple over how the heck you can make a living off of it.  Whew, it just makes their head spin.

But, as a seasoned blogger, I can honestly tell you publishing my first horribly photographed post was the best decision I have ever made.  Just look how little the boys were when we started

This space has evolved so much over the past 5 years, and while most bloggers focus on one niche to be successful, I am awfully happy I get to share every aspect of our lives here, and still work with amazing brands.  I couldn’t imagine limiting my content to just recipes, or family life …. I have SO much to share, SO much to say, and SO much still to do I couldn’t just pick one.

So, its safe to say that even with a new year at my fingers tips, and decisions that could be made to sway this blog one way or the other, it will stay as it is.  I’ve had great opportunities arise from this little slice of internet, and continue to.  I never intended this blog to be a space that drove thousands of readers to – let alone help my family financially.  Those were pure bonuses.

 Content isn’t busted out in 20 minutes.  Collaborations do not happen over night, dedicated readers are not gained  quickly either.  That is why I take such great pride in this space, YOU guys a real, YOU are lovely, and YOU help make this space what it is!

We’ve taken you through our journey of fixing up the houses we live in, we are on #2 – which has been our largest challenge yet

This I get, why others love these posts so much.  It’s like watching a train wreck that suddenly gets saved at the very last minute.  We dive in head first into our projects, most of the time not knowing exactly where we will end up, but the DIY itch has been in our blood before it was hip and we cannot stop.

  I take great pride in the fact that for the most part, this blog has grown over word of mouth.  People telling people.  Simple as that, which I adore you all for and could squeeze each of you. I have high hopes for this space, and genuinely want it to stay as organic and real as the day I started.

I throw in recipes our family loves to chow on.  Not because they are chef quality, or pictures straight from a magazine, but because if you’re like us, we love to entertain and feed our family delicious bites, and figured we’d share them with you.  I am far from experienced in the kitchen, I just love a good wooden spoon and a mixing bowl and endless options to plump my thighs up.  Simple as that.

So, here is my promise to you.

The content I post here is always truthful and real.  I do not put glitter on a shitty situation, nor do I endorse brands that I would not stand behind 100%.   With this year you will see more collaborations, and know that I introduce you to companies that I love myself.  My stories are real, sometimes to raw.  They are not all chipper and full of rainbows.  I write to connect, to communicate my feelings, and to inspire and hopefully brightens someones day.  I’m not a blogger whose pictures are perfection, and outfits are one to stop you in your tracks.  I am a basic girl with a lot to say, simple as that.

I need support from you guys to help this space grow even more, so please never be shy to drop our name to a friends and spread the love.  The more we grow the more opportunities we can spread to you guys too (who loves giveaways?!) –

I feel like we’re getting married here, and I’m stating my vows.  But, it’s all true.  I adore all of you, and the comments and emails.  Your stories have touched my heart, and your sweet notes just warm my heart.  I love this community we’ve built here, and I hope you all stick around for years and years to come.  So, a big ass thank you to all of you.  Really, you rock.

Thanks for letting me always say it like it is, and keep this blog an open book.  For all of us to read, and look back on.  I hope you find a ton of inspiration in this space, and are never shy to reach out.

Much love my Thome Home readers, you are the best.

This cutie has kept us on our toes these past two days.  It happens every year, a few times a year in fact, where a cold/asthma attack spirals into an exaggerated one that lasts for days.  So I’m running off of about 3 hours of sleep in 48 hours (no exaggeration, I wish I was kidding).  He’s up all night coughing his sweet lungs out, and we are busy doing breathing treatments around the clock to try to kick its butt! Boy oh boy how I hope this session will be short-lived, it feels so routine to us, and every time it can feel just as overwhelming to care for.

Onto greener pastures, I took him on a quick shopping trip to Babies R Us this morning, because pushing back buying the baby gear we need just can’t happen any longer.  We’ll be 29 weeks on Saturday (AH!)

I’ve had my eye on a 3 pieces I was itching to have.  Yes, I’m picky.  Yes, I wanted more stream line color (black, black and more black) and learned my lesson with being a mom to two babes already that you get what you pay for.

This month at Babies r Us they are having their “trade in event” which basically you turning in your old baby gear crap, and you get a coupon in exchange to use toward another gear purchase.  25% off, or 30% if you your Babies r Us credit card.  You know I’m a woman after a good deal, so I grabbed our two old pack n plays and handed them over at the beginning of the month, without giving anything else much thought.

Go figure that they did not sell the pieces I needed in store.  Insert panic here.  I just tossed away two pack n plays, and left with nothing.  SO after 2 weeks of live chatting with the store, why the heck it took so long, they concluded that I could go to the store, order the gear there, and still utilize my “in store only” coupons.   Thank the blue sky above.

You guys, I saved $220 bucks this morning – I purchased the stroller, and the pack and play.  The car seat I’m just ordering online today since I only had two coupons.  But, the stroller is normally $399, and I snagged it for $272 and the pack and play is $299 and I got it for $200.

It may have taken FOREVER, literally 50 minutes for them to implement the codes into the computer, but I was one happy momma to know that I finally checked 2 items off of our list, and saved a boat load of cash in the mean time.  Wahoo.  Go me.

You can find these items here …

Car Seat.   Pack n Play.  Stroller.  

We used the chicco key fit car seats in the past and loved them.  And the new urban chicco stroller has SO many features I could just cry.  I cannot wait to stroll this new one around town in it.  The pack n play by 4moms, I just dare you to watch the video.  Goodbye struggling to open and collapse a pack n play, that’s a thing of the past.

So if you’re in the market for new baby gear, doing the trade in event is SO worth it.  I cannot wait to get these in the mail and refresh my mommy brain on how to use it all!

This is a sponsored post with Ryobi Outdoor – thank you for supporting the brands that help support our blog! 

We all know that winter time can be a mother – And mother nature is always in control.  It’s a fact.  As much as we can guess and prepare for what is to come, we are always left either under or overwhelmed.  Those times though that mother nature decides to smack us in the face we are left scrambling for how to deal and clean everything up.

Thankfully, we have Ryobi to turn too!

We have been LONG time fans and users of Ryobi tools and outdoor tools, we seem to utilize them left and right in our house.   We still have a dream list of tools we’d like to acquire, and tackling it will be a must with some of the upcoming house projects we have in store for this home.

Back to the weather — this winter we knew we needed two key items.  A snow blower, and a generator.  Our lovely friends at Ryobi agreed and sent two beauties our way to test out this winter season and we were so grateful and completely smitten!

Below you can find the exact items, and the links to purchase your own!

Generator

Snow Blower 

The generator was a must-have for our house.  We learned our lesson the hard way at our old home when the power went out on multiple occasions, of course on the evenings when I had over $200 of fresh groceries in the fridge and everything was left to spoil.  Not anymore! We can rest assured knowing that we have a back up – and that not only our food but any other appliance we may need to revive will be backed up by this beauty of a generator.

I adore the new snow blower too, you guys have got to get one to believe it.  It is SO quiet, it moves around so smoothly and swipes the ground clean.  We were so impressed by this snow blower, even more that it is battery-powered.  Go Ryobi!

The snow blower is so compact and light, which I love because it makes it easy for me to use.  Dan mentioned how this snow blower would be perfect for our parents (cough, the older folks, cough) because it is so easy to push around, it required very little strength.

Last night we got pounded with 6 inches or so, and while normally that isn’t anything for us, this winter has been extremely kind to us.  So I can honestly say that Dan is looking forward to snow blowing when he gets home, because it is just that easy with this equipment.

A huge thank you and giant snowman squeeze to Ryobi for saving our butts this winter!

28 weeks! Let’s shout it from the rooftops, shall we?

It literally feels like yesterday that I was jumping up and down with that urine kissed stick in the bedroom with Dan – not only could we not believe that we were pregnant, but we really couldn’t believe we had the chance to add another bundle of joy to the bunch.   You can read more about that exciting day, here.  We found out extra early at 3 weeks along, and these past 25 weeks have truly flown by.  (Minus the kidney stone weeks, holy crap.)

So, here I sit, thankfully because going up and down the stairs causes me to lose my breath more often than I would like to admit.  This little guy is SO active.  Like, “can you guys believe this?!” active, you can see it through my shirt across the room.  He stretches and rolls with all of his might and I feel every inch of his darling little baby bod.

I warned those who hadn’t seen me pregnant how I carry, and even those who have still seem shocked when they see my belly.  Straight out from the hips, proud to stand out and isn’t stopping any time soon.  Thankfully one lady I could have kissed at the counter at the mall said my belly looked tiny, and as much as I know it is all baby, it is nice to hear those comments sometimes rather than the others.

But, at the end of the day, I own this bump.  And this bump contains the most precious gift.  So while I spend the next up to 12 weeks expanding in size, just deal with it, push in your chair and move out of its way.  We’ve got our own area code now 🙂

9 week bump

13 week bump

16 week bump

And behold, the amazing third trimester bump …

Helllllo Baby 🙂

The bump has filled out, my cheeks are starting to get that “pregnancy plump” and the numbers on the scale are ticking up and up each appointment.

Now let’s do the bump update questionnaire….

weight gain: starting with the fun one – I was fairly constant throughout this pregnancy, at 20 weeks I had only gained 13 pounds.  It remained that way until my last appointment where I stand at 18 pounds up.  And I’ll take it! I gained over 40 pounds with each of the boys, so even if I pack on another 12+ I’ll be at 30, and that’s all good to me.  Trying my best to not stress about that side of it all, because it comes off eventually – and I’ve been eating super healthy, so there is really not much I could “change” if I needed too.

comments: the majority of the comments to me lately have been everyone asking me about my kidney stones.  and yes, they are gone, thank goodness – so it is really such a relief that hopefully they don’t come back and I am finally comfortable! Brody rubs my belly a lot and says “mom your belly is getting so big!” and Owen squeezes me saying “I’m so excited for the baby!!” This morning Owen asked how the baby comes out, and I told him I push him out of my private parts (there is no jumping around the facts anymore) and he did a great impression of me doing so, and said “Like this! Like your poooooping mom”  Exactly like that, Owen.

fears: ask me at weeks ago and with the pain I was in I was fearful I would go into preterm labor.  Now, my fears rest where most mommys do – just praying for a healthy happy baby.  I don’t see this answer changing much at all.

sleep: insert pregnancy insomnia here.  some night, I have zero issues falling asleep.  Most nights I just have a hard time staying asleep, just constantly tossing and turning, getting up to pee, being woken up to little jabs and rolls from the little guy.  No complaints though, just natures way of getting me ready for sleepless nights all over again.

looking forward to: these next 12 weeks in general.  we are jump starting shopping this week, and picking out paint and furniture for the nursery.  finally feeling good again has me filled with more energy and excitement to get things going.  while 12 weeks may seem like a long time to others, it can fly for a mom to be who already has little ones to keep her busy.

whats grossing me out: myself.  the burps, the farts, the panty liners needed … I swear carrying a boy has literally turned me into a boy.  Hahaha.  Fellow mommas out there know, your body just changes in so many ways it is hard to even keep up with it!

random thoughts: a 3rd boy! really, that goes through my mind a lot.  still in shock, still just as happy and excited to see Brody and Owen get to be big brothers all over again.  Dan has been a super champ – last month with the kidney stones tested all of our patience, and that man is truly the ying to my yang.  and we cannot wait to see what this babe will look like.  blonde hair, blue eyes, dark hair brown eyes …. oooo sweet baby, i don’t care – just want to kiss your face!

What a day yesterday!  I figured I should fill you in on my kidneys, because I know they are exactly what you are thinking about when you wake up in the morning.  “Oh, I sure hope Abby has passed all of her stones, I just cannot go on with my day until I know.”

Well, here ya go 🙂

  So Dan and I woke up and hit the road (Papa came to the house to get the kiddos ready for school) and headed to the surgery center for me to be prepped to get a stent placed.  The stent is for the kidney stones, and the swelling of my kidneys (mainly my right one is the trouble maker).  Of course, if you can imagine, I was a hot mess for over a week trying to prepare myself for this procedure.  Let’s get real, if not pregnant, no big deal – knock me out, stick it in and let’s get the show on the road.  But, while with child, eeekk.

 I’d just rather not.

So the nurse comes in, chats about the plan and I asked when they were going to do the kidney ultrasound.  She said that one was not on the schedule, only the procedure.  I was told that there was going to be a scan done first, to check if anything has improved.  So I was a bit worried at this point, but did what I normally never do, insist….  This past week things had improved greatly for me on the pain scale and I felt like a normal, functioning human being.   So, I had great hopes that things were improving.

I would never second guess a procedure that needed to be done if it was guaranteed.  But I’ve heard stories of having stents while pregnant, and just the idea of it being uncomfortable to have in for the rest of the pregnancy bummed me out because finally I was capable of feeling good for most of my day now.

Thankfully, my urologist agreed to let me have the scan done, which I am sure did not tickle his fancy seeing as it put him behind schedule.  I was relieved, I just wanted one last confirmation on what to do –

Well well, what do you know, this mama has IMPROVED.  They cancelled the procedure and sent me to Starbucks, just kidding, I went there right after.

 My stones were no longer visible, and while my right kidney was still growing in size, it was nothing to raise an eyebrow too.  My urologist said that he’ll do a bigger work up after the baby is born and I was THRILLED.  To say I was lucky is an understatement.

But, I’ve gotta thank a $2 bill for that.

While packing Brody’s lunch before heading out, I was digging in our ziploc bag drawer only to find an envelope scrunched in the way far back.  Pulled it out, and it was a bunch of crisp fresh $2 bills that my aunt had given us over the holidays, from my grandparents.  Longest story short, my grandparents always gave every grandchild a two dollar bill for every holiday, big and small.  They continued it for all of their great-grandchildren, and it was just too sweet.

They passed away last year, and sadly enough we knew the two dollar tradition would stop – and that was okay, it’s a sweet tradition all of the cousins will always remember.  Little did we know that my Grandpa asked my Aunt to get a bunch of two dollar bills before he passed (which was an unexpected passing – he was just stashing up on them) and so this past Christmas my aunt handed them out to us all. I cried, of course.  It just brought back all the amazing memories they gave us.

That random envelope tucked away could not have come at better timing.

Oddly enough we’ve never left them in the envelope, they always go straight into the boys piggy banks.  Brody exclaimed “How did Grandpa do that?? He’s in heaven!” I smiled and suddenly just felt a sense of calm and knew in my heart of hearts that they were both looking over me and the baby yesterday.

Coincidence, I think not.  I definitely believe in those little signs.

So, with great hope – things keep improving and the pain diminishes.  And I can enjoy the last trimester of this pregnancy.   I am ready to shop, nest, clean, prep and every ounce in between. Feeling oh so fortunate today, and so grateful for those moments that bring you back down to earth and remind you that someone is always looking over us.

Two dollar bills from heaven, Thanks G +G.

We celebrated the little things this past weekend.  Like me being able to get up and walk around without collapsing in pain over these ridiculous kidney stones! Earlier last week things starting improving drastically, and let me tell you – kidney stones are no freaking joke.  I am so relieved to say that I am hoping the worse is over.  I go in Thursday for a possible stent procedure to relieve the pressure off of my swollen kidneys, so send some positive vibes this way.  You all know this mama is not a fan of anything hospital related, our family has enough of that already!

Saturday afternoon Dan took the kiddos to see Star Wars and I took off to Babies R Us, because somehow staring at everything we need to get made me feel a bit more prepared for this little one.  We plan on starting the shopping later this month, seeing as by the end of this month we’ll be 30 weeks along!! AH! It felt so good to get out, just run errands and feel human for a day.  I swear I have felt like a shut in these past few weeks.  In catholic school growing up we would make cards to send to the elderly in our neighborhood to brighten their day, I was checking the mailbox daily to wait for my card.  (kidding). But as a girl who is always on the go, I really felt like I was going to be in pain the rest of my pregnancy which was a daunting thought.  But, hey, lots of prayer and patience and so far so good.  Everything is manageable, and I am thankful for that!

Brody stayed home sick from school on Friday.  Poor kid was having a rough stomach night the evening prior, and woke up with an awful cold.  He told me this ” Sore throat, losing my voice, belly ache, overall just a bad day mom!”  I love that kid – he sure has experienced a lot more than most kiddos his age, and sometimes I hate the fact that he is so in tune with his body, but at the end of the day, he needs to be.

And Owen, my love, has just been a sheer pistol.  Full of so many comments I cannot even handle anymore.  For one, pointing at my new addition of cleavage, he said “Oh wow mom, that’s like your boob slide.  It looks like a slide mom.”  I keep explaining that “they” are indeed private parts too, and we can’t talk about “them” like that. HA.  But what the heck am I going to do when the babe comes and I’m nursing 24/7?? So, I’m rolling with his curious comments and just trying to answer the questions swiftly and move on.  My boob slide cannot turn into a daily discussion.

One more thing to help make this post a fantastic random roundup, I posted these loaded oatmeal cups earlier last week, and if you haven’t made them yet please do yourself a favor and get on it.

Here is the recipe 

They are so so so good.  I ate the entire batch, minus the few I shared and am currently craving the heck out of them.  I cannot tell you guys enough how much flavor and goodness is packed into these lovelies.

We have a really fun collaboration coming up on Wednesday you guys should keep your eyes open for, along with a REALLY exciting collaboration with the one and only lovely folks @Chalkworthy.  I’ll give you a few hints.  It’s DIY (duh) and it’s for the nursery! A much larger scale project that is going to set the tone for the entire room – Dan and I are just giddy about it.