In the last week we’ve experienced three separate minor floodings in the house. First in the kitchen, then the laundry room, and most recently Sunday morning, the kitchen again.

The Kitchen: Wednesday Night
On Wednesday night, we finally had a chance to unpack and organize a little bit in the kitchen. Jen wanted to wash most of the stuff before putting it away in our cabinets, so throughout the night we were testing the dishwasher on various settings, etc. A little later on, after filling the dishwasher with unpacked dishes we were ready for our first load and I went under the sink to get the dish detergent and found the whole cabinet full of water. After cleaning up the standing water I was able to locate the hose that was leaking and it appears the drain hose for the new dishwasher that attaches to the disposal was not properly tightened, so it was loose and leaking.

Laundry Room: Friday Afternoon
Friday, I took some time to install our new (to us) washer and dryer and replaced the old 3-prong wiring harness for the dryer with a new 4-prong one. After completing that, I wanted to make sure everything was hooked up and working correctly on the washer. I hooked up the water, the drain hose, and the plugs and set to test our washer for the first time. Everything was working great, filling with hot/cold water and agitating, etc. Then as I’m standing there pushing back the dryer, the washer switches to drain and water starts flowing Niagara Falls style out the back. Seems the old owners clogged the pipe somehow and it restricted the drainage enough to back up, flow out and down the wall and fill the entire laundry room. NOT AWESOME and not how I wanted to spend my Friday afternoon.

To remedy the problem I bought a snake from Home Depot and cleared the line and retested and everything seems to be working properly.

Kitchen: Sunday Morning
As we got in the car to leave Sunday morning, we realized we had left our cups from our homemade smoothies in the truck from the day before, so we wanted to fill them with water to make them easier to clean later. As I went to do that, Jen was going to use the bathroom. I turned on the water to wash the cups out and turned the cold knob just right and simultaneously knocked the nozzle for the kitchen sprayer right off the hose sending water nearly to the ceiling geyser style. As water sprayed straight into the air, my first reaction was to place my hands over the hose to keep the water in and around the sink, which actually meant filling the cabinet under the sink once again.

Being in the moment, I felt the urge to turn the water off from underneath the sink, not realizing I could have easily turned off the sink faucets to relieve my fountain problem. So I did what you do when you can’t hold your hand over the water and turn it off at the same time, I yelled out to Jen to come and help at the top of my lungs. Jen comes running out to my rescue not knowing what the heck is going on with her pants half down.

Things haven’t been uneventful here to say the least.

A HUGE HUGE HUGE Thank You to all our friends and family that helped us move last week. Words can’t fully express our appreciation for all you did. You were amazing!!! Here’s a quick run down off all the wonderful helpers we had.

- Mom helped us pack up boxes on Sunday.

- Gina and Alan helped us move 3 car loads in the cold rain on Wednesday night. (Dad let us borrow his Suburban to make this happen).
- Took another 2 car loads with the help of Mom, and Alan helped Jeremy hook up the fridge on Thursday night.
- Saturday was the BIG move and unfortunately it was cold and raining. But that didn’t stop Ryan, Gary, Anna, Kristy-Lee, Rob, Michael, Allison, Matt, Justin, and Hemarie from showing up to carry boxes. (Christina and Noah were honorary movers : ) While everyone else was moving things Mom cleaned the kitchen and removed the contact paper from the counters, no small feat after being on there for 5 yrs.

- Mom and Kelly came over Sunday afternoon and helped us repaint.

Without all this help we truly couldn’t have done all this in a week!!!

After our big move on Saturday we headed back to the apartment and cleaned and painted from 8 p.m. until 2 a.m.

We slept in Sunday morning and then Jeremy headed back to the apartment to continue painting (I spent a few more hours in bed because I was having trouble walking at this point, I was like the little old guy from UP!). I met him back there at 5 p.m. and we finished loading the last odds and ends, cleaned a few other things, and took our last pictures in the bare bones apartment. I surprisingly even got a little bit choked up as we took our last walk through and dropped off the keys. I wasn’t expecting that to happen with all the complaining I do about that place.

At 7 p.m. Sunday night, we closed that door for the last time and headed to a delicious dinner at Tropical Smoothie. And Monday I called in “Drained” and spent most of the day in bed. We’re glad the move is behind us and can’t wait to get all these boxes unpacked and invite everyone over to enjoy our new home with us.

Thank you again for everything you did! We feel loved!

10. Carrying groceries up the stairs.

9. The limited parking spots causing us to park blocks from where we actually live.

8. The gate that has only worked for maybe a total of a month out of our 5 years there. It seemed to only work on the days it rained.

7. When they renovated the outside of our building. A “6 week project” took 5 months, put a large hole in our wall that led outside, made a huge mess inside and outside, and killed all our plants on the balcony.

6. The windows that leak when it rains (which ironically were replaced during the renovation two years ago to prevent just that).

5. The incompetent staff. We lived there for 6 years (first year was just Jeremy and then I joined him), all of which we rented a garage. At least yearly they would call and ask what garage was ours, and even when we turned in our keys on Sunday, they called Monday to ask again.

4. Our sink that has not stopped dripping for the past year and our toilet that only flushes half the time, even though we’ve had maintenance out to fix both of them.

3. The time there was a clog in the pipes somewhere between the third and first floor which caused a back up in our toilet. First there was flooding, then there was sewage that came up into tub when we tried to plunge. And when we called maintenance we were told it wasn’t an emergency because we had a second toilet. Any time there is sewage coming up in my tub, that makes it an emergency to me.

2. The big foot neighbors upstairs and their yappy dog that barks for hours on end in the middle of the night causing me to get up out of bed, walk into the bathroom, and yell “SHUT UP” at the top of my lungs until he stops.

And the #1 Reason. The people with the garage below our bedroom that come home at three in the morning and feel the need to repeatedly open and close their garage door, waking us from our sleep and shaking our bed like we are staying in a cheap motel with a 25¢ vibrating bed.

For all the reasons we won’t miss our apartment (and there are more than this list of 10) there is one reason why we will. It was our first place together, the first place we called home, the place we spent the last 5 years of our lives making memories. So goodbye little apartment, we had some good times together.

It’s been crazy around here, but here’s a rundown on what happened in our first 24 hours as homeowners.

• We made multiple Home Depot runs. We were pleasantly surprised by the helpfulness of 3 of their employees.

• Jeremy killed wasps all around the perimeter the house.

• Jen helped sweep the garage to help Jeremy prep it for painting.

• Jeremy accidentally ran the truck battery dead listening to music and lighting up the garage while working late into the night cleaning, priming, and painting the garage floor. Resulting in an angry and exhausted pregnant wife driving over to jump the truck, she contemplated leaving him there to sleep on the floor.

• Hired a cleaning crew that took way longer than their estimated time. End result: Smells like cleaner and looks a bit better, but cost more than it should have.

• Jeremy had to deal with birds large and small, from the Sandhill Crane out back to the crazy Cardinal that wanted to be a part of our family. This cute little bird kept flying into our side and back windows throughout the morning. It sounded like gunshots and it just wouldn’t give up.

• Jeremy took tons of pictures to help us get a really good grasp on the before, so we can show off the afters when we get settled in.

• Jeremy leveled the stove, and installed some new shelves and drawers into the fridge (the sellers accidentally broke them).

• Jen called all around to update our address info everywhere she could from the doctors to the DMV.

• We moved a little bit of stuff over despite the rain with the help of our good friends, Alan and Gina. We originally planned to use the back of Alan’s pickup along with Jeremy’s truck, but the rain never let up, so we borrowed Jen’s dad’s Suburban which gave us a ton of covered transport to the new place.

Today we closed on our first house! We are beyond excited!!!

After the initial 2 months of waiting for the short sale to be approved, everything else came together pretty quickly. We got the written acceptance of our offer the Feb 8th and were able to close on Feb 23rd. After hearing so many horror stories from friends about their closing experiences with endless paperwork, etc, we were prepared to spend the whole afternoon in the title office. Thankfully everyone we worked with, from our realtor Larry Aridas of Remax II, to Mike from Venture Title, to Jeni from FBC Mortgage, made this a fun and enjoyable experience. Before we knew it we were on our way “Home” and couldn’t believe that it had actually happened. “We bought a house!?”

Here’s a look at our first time going into our house with our new keys.

Opening Our Door for the First Time from KENEDIK on Vimeo.

Jen’s parents Beverly and Arch came over shortly after we got in and surprised us with some bubbly for a toast to the new place.

Until we become homeowners! So crazy excited!

Wow the months are flying by. Tuesday afternoon we had another appointment to see how Baby Kakes is developing. This time when we walked in we ran into a couple that goes to our church. She’s 11 weeks and they just started telling their friends. I’m glad we didn’t run into them back when we were in our first trimester and not telling people yet :)

As usual, everything is progressing as it should and looks good. This time we went over the ultrasound report since the hospital didn’t send it in time for my last appointment. The placenta is in the back which is fine, as long as it’s not at the bottom it doesn’t matter where it is. Now this was a month and ½ ago at this point, but his body was measuring in the 33rd percentile while his big ole head was measuring in the 70th percentile. I knew he was going to be a smarty pants ;)

We discussed my weight (8 more pounds!) which is right on target. I asked if I was gaining too much and she said that my body was just catching up because I didn’t gain anything in the beginning months and should even out now. I haven’t gained weight outside of my stomach area and I don’t have any swelling in my hands and feet so all good signs. She also said that with your first baby you tend to gain more and then lose it quickly after birth because your body isn’t familiar with what is going on and tries to get back to your previous state as soon as it can. However with the second child you will usually gain less but it will take more time to lose the weight because your body has done this before and knows that there isn’t something wrong.

His heartbeat continues to be strong and he was head down, bum forward when she checked his position. He probably changed 5 mins after but at least he knows what position he’s supposed to get into later.

We were given homework to start checking out pediatricians and given a list of recommendations. Even if we like the first one, we are supposed to check at least one more out to make sure they are the best fit for our family. Our first appointment will be within days of his arrival so we still have time but it’s coming soon.

We also had to register for our birthing class. That starts 3/1, so I’ll keep you updated on whether that helps or terrifies us :)

Our next appointment is at 28 weeks (which is only 3 weeks away since I’m really 6.25 months this week). I will have to be checked for gestational diabetes, so it will have to be a morning appointment and I have to eat a special breakfast and be in the office within 30 mins after my last bite. I can’t imagine there would be an issue, but if there is I will have to drink some liquid goo and be retested. Prayers for no liquid goo test are appreciated : ) After that my appointments will happen every two weeks instead of monthly.

Hey friends, we’ve decided to make our move on Saturday Feb 27 starting at 9:30am and could use your help! We’ll provide all helpers with tasty food and drinks throughout the day. Let us know if you can help out.

We had a great inspection last week and after talking with our mortgage company today, it looks like we will be closing on our first home on Tuesday the 23rd! We are pushing for earlier, but that date looks like a definite. Which means we will be able to move the 27th, and finish repainting and clean our apartment the 28th, to hand in our keys on March 1st.

Anyone have some free time to help? There are free drinks and pizza involved :)

We had dentist appointments on Tuesday. Unlike probably the majority of people, I don’t dread the dentist. In fact, I actually like my dentist and hygienist (Dr. Pitts in Lake Mary, if anyone is looking for a referral). But when Monday night rolled around I felt myself getting nervous about going the next day. You see my normal good clean mouth practices fell to the wayside when I got pregnant, and with everything (including the taste of toothpaste) making me gag, it was all I could do to brush my teeth morning and night, flossing and mouthwash were flat out neglected. So I thought for sure when I opened my mouth the hygienist would say I had some problems. But in a stroke of sheer pregnancy miracles, I got a raving review. I was told my mouth was the picture of health! She explained that pregnancy and the hormones effect women in different ways and in my case it actually seemed to make my mouth produce minimal tartar and no bleeding (another common side effect of pregnancy).

I couldn’t believe my ears. Finally a benefit of pregnancy! I’ve been waiting for a one of these to come around. (Besides the sweet little baby that’s coming).

And then she told me I looked like a Hollywood star pregnant lady. Did I already say that I love my dentist?

Note: I know I seem a bit obsessive about my weight, but when everyday the people at work say “Oh my God, you look bigger than yesterday!” and “You’re eating again?!”, it starts to make you self conscious and also like you want to punch them in the face.

A little late on this post, but so much has been going on. Saturday, the 6th, we headed out with Michael and Jackie to Oak Haven Farms for our annual strawberry picking adventure. Both Jeremy and I could probably eat strawberries every day for the rest of our lives and never get tired of them, so we always enjoy our trip out to the farm. My belly got in the way allowing me to only pick for about half a row before becoming the official tray holder, but with Jeremy’s excellent picking skills we still left with about 10 pounds of sweet goodness.

After weighing in, we spent some time enjoying strawberry milkshakes with friends before heading home for the day to enjoy the fruits of our labor. We dipped them in chocolate, made a pie, and ate them straight up plain. February is the best time of year!

We’re excited to let you know that our first kid’s tee, The Rocker, is now available for purchase at a sweet $24. Let us know what size you need and we’ll print it up for you and ship it out to you in about a week.

The Rocker Tee from KBC

Infant 6 Months $24.00 Infant 12 Months $24.00 Infant 18 Months $24.00 Other child’s size: Please Specify

We just found out this morning that the seller’s bank has finally accepted our short sale offer on our new house. It’s been over 2-months of waiting, but we’re finally getting a house!!!

We could be in our new place as early as next month. We’ll keep you updated on the progress!

As 23 weeks come to an end, there’s not a whole lot going on. I’m very excited that my all day sickness seems to finally have taken a hike, which is amazing! 5 months was plenty, thank you. I wouldn’t say my taste buds are 100% back, but they are getting there and I can deal with that. I have definitely noticed I’m eating more. I try to only eat when my stomach growls and keep my snacks to fruits and veggies. Fridays seem to end up as my free for all day though since it seems I’ve run out of fresh groceries by then : )

My stomach obliviously keeps getting bigger and bigger. I’m measuring at 35” at my roundest, the same size as Jeremy’s waist. He so kindly offered to let me borrow some of his pants, but I think I’m good : ) About a week ago, I ran into a table with my belly because I’m just not used to something being there. I’m finding myself apologizing to my stomach more and more these days : ) I also can’t squeeze through things anymore, and sucking anything in is out of the question. A co-worker parked really close to me the other day and I didn’t think I was going to be able to get into my car. Especially since my days of entering through the passenger’s side and crawling to the driver’s side are over for now. And bending over, well just forget it, I have to ask Jeremy to help me put on my socks.

I think Jeremy’s getting jealous of the body pillow I bought a few weeks ago, since I’m snuggling up to it every night instead of him. I do occasionally wake up with hip aches, but for the most part it is helping me get more rest. I am, however, getting up to use the bathroom every couple hours still and since there’s no way to make that better, I’m still pretty groggy in the mornings. Not that I was ever a morning person anyway.

I’m pretty sure my tailbone is at war against me and is trying to exit out my back. I thought exercise would help, but it seems the day after I do a work out it hurts more. I’m not doing anything crazy so I’m confused why that is. I’m seriously thinking about investing in one of those donut seat cushions for my office chair since I can’t really lay down on the job. And a pillow for lower back support. I’m currently using a rolled up blanket (when I’m not using it to try to stay warm).

Baby Kakes is kicking a ton these days and he’s getting pretty strong. Sometimes I find myself jerking forward from a kick I wasn’t expecting and it makes me laugh to myself. If anyone saw me, I’m sure they’d think something was wrong. He hasn’t found my bladder yet and he’s not keeping me up at night so I am thankful for that. (He must know I’m writing about this, he just started kicking me again). He usually kicks a lot after I’ve eaten something so we joke that he has an opinion about that food.

Other than that, things are going well. We’re still in limbo as we wait for the house and no, we still haven’t decided on a name.

I think it’s time for my afternoon snack …

My boss’ daughters were in the office today and as I was walking down the stairs he asked them if they had seen my belly. The six year old was closest to me and looked up at me with a quizzically look in her eyes. I told her that I had a really big lunch and it made my stomach really big. Her eyes got wide and she said “REALLY?!”. I had to smile and tell her no, that I was going to have a little baby boy and I was actually on my way out to get him lunch. I got a good laugh out of that when I left the office. That would have been one heck of a lunch!