New Beginnings

Hey there... would you look at that. It's been practically 1 1/2 years since my last post. Did I mention I'm a horrible blogger? I promise it's all been for a good reasons though. Well, mostly. My job has become my life over the past year and some odd months. I've been a barista/host/bartender/room service extraordinaire working some crazy hours in the busier months. I also get up at 4 am(ish) every morning which doesn't lend itself to wanting to do very much with the rest of my day after work but take a nap.
Oh and hey, right now I'm growing a little person too. We're expecting our first baby in mid June shortly after we celebrate our 4th anniversary. At the moment I'm approximately 7 months pregnant and growing increasingly less comfortable seemingly at the same rate the temperature is rising. Fingers crossed we stay below the 100s for awhile yet. We've gotten to see our growing baby boy twice by 3d ultrasound which is really an experience. I know I'm biased but he's pretty darn cute already.
As for the other bit of news, we're building a house! We made the decision on December 31st to go for it and construction on our dream home began in January of this year. It's been quite the experience to see our home take shape right in front of our eyes. It seems like every week some new exciting progress has been made. This is the house we hope to make our home for the foreseeable future, God willing, and to see our children grow up in. We are cutting it a little close, we are set to get our keys in May, almost exactly a month before Baby Ellis is due. It's going to be a challenge to move, get unpacked, and get all the baby stuff set up and organized before he makes his appearance. I can't say I mind not having to do any of the heavy lifting though!

It's been a whirlwind of a few months and we have some super exciting and slightly overwhelming months ahead. But I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. Ultrasound photos coming soon but for now here's some progress photos of our house!

Confessions of a lazy wife.

This is going to be a brutally honest post. I've always been the type to start a New Year's resolution a little ahead of time. And if I share my aspirations I feel a little less likely to give up on them easily. I've always believed it is better to write from the heart, so this may be a little embarrassing.

Some of my very few regular readers (hi best friend!) probably already know this about me. For those that don't, I am a not a very good house keeper. It's just not in my genes. It was definitely in my mother's genes...she can create a chore chart, organize a bookshelf, and whip up dinner for 8 all at the same time. She's like superwoman with an organizer and phone with her at all times. This annoyed the ever living daylights out of me when I was a teen. I just wanted my stuff left alone, and to not always have to be doing something productive. I'm sure my piles of "organized clutter" and never made bed were annoying to her as well. When I got my own place, I cherished my new found freedom to not have to clean my room every Saturday. I became a pro at cleaning an entire apartment in the hour before guests came over(especially my mother).

Now I'm older, wiser, and wishing I had a magical laundry elf to keep the piles of towels and clothes away from my living room loveseat. You know your best friends by those who mercifully pretend it's not there. It's a little harder to clean an entire 4 bedroom house and backyard last minute. Don't even get me started on how many times I've tried to organize my craft/guest room. My project list is always growing and so does my craft closet with supplies...which has spilled out into the rest of the room and other parts of the house. I'm sure my husband just loves when there is modpodge in the kitchen and boxes of glitter in his man cave. Oh I have the best intentions. I endlessly save cleaning tips on Pinterest and go crazy on the refrigerator every now and then. But when it comes to day to day cleaning, I don't have the faintest idea of where to start. I'm much better at sitting on the couch writing things, or getting up to my elbows in fabric creating things, or being incredibly busy outside of the home. But with three people and a dog living here, housework just can't be ignored for long.

We've come up with a few ideas that we try to stick to, like rinsing dishes and putting them straight into the dishwasher as we use them. But I'm determined to get into a mindset that encourages a clean house(not just a picked up one) and discourages clutter. Ideally I would like to get to a point that I don't face a daunting task of cleaning an entire house in order to have people over.

Wish me luck! I am open to any suggestions or tips. I hope to share anything that helps so stay tuned for that.

The long lost blogger has returned.

Yes I know, I am a terrible blogger. Forgive me, I have failed the blog universe. It's been an interesting few months. A long busy summer, I can't complain. We traveled a lot, did quite a bit around the house, and I started a ton of craft projects that I may or may not have finished yet. Next post I will highlight some of our house projects and show you how our little house is finally becoming our own! I also want to share a really great organization that is doing some big things and I'm excited to share with everyone soon. For now, here's some fun Summer pictures.



We went to Slide Rock for the first time with my Mom and the kids. The creek was so very cold, even 
with temperatures in the triple digits.

 Fourth of July we relaxed by the pool all day, it was a beautiful overcast day with scattered showers that felt more like we were on the East Coast than Arizona. London went swimming for the first time(not by accident anyway) and didn't like it very much. Matt's friend brought over his dog though and London was like a puppy running around with her new friend. Then later in the day we went to my parents' house to shoot off fireworks, it's still a bit of a novelty since last year was the first time it was legal to have fireworks.

Late July our CA family came down to AZ to visit for a week which also happened to during my birthday. Sammy and I had a mini stay-cation at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass and we all went out to Olive & Ivy in Scottsdale for an amazing birthday dinner. The husband also surprised me with an orchid lei that smelled absolutely amazing.

 It just so happened that Matt & I were going up to Northern California the day after the family went home, so we got to see all of them for two weeks. The first day we were there we went to the Danville Relay For Life. A couple months ago we had dedicated a luminaria in memory of Grandpa Irish, it worked out that we were there during the event so we went to the ceremony to see the luminaria with my little sister Morgan. It was very touching to see all the luminarias lining the track in memory and honor of those fighting cancer. Definitely an experience.

We had a great time enjoying the beautiful weather, spending time with family, and sightseeing. One day Matt and I drove up Mt. Diablo to see the view.

From the top of Mt. Diablo.

Looking north toward Napa.

We also went down to the coast so Matt could see Monterey for the first time. We had lunch at Pebble Beach then drove down the coast to Carmel. My Dad is the best tour guide.

Pebble Beach Golf Course

Me and my Dad at Pebble Beach

We went out on the boat, took a beautiful trip to Napa with Dad and Krizia, and Matt made a new best friend. My little brother is getting so big! And he thought Matt was the greatest thing ever. It was adorable.

View of San Francisco from near Berkeley

At Rombauer, my favorite winery(Of course!)

Matt and Jameson watching the Olympics.

Sammy and I celebrated our birthdays together belatedly with a girls night. 

 
My mom and I went to Coronado Island last weekend with Caleb and Haley. It was absolutely beautiful, if a little crowded since it was Labor Day weekend. We had a great view of the SD bay, Haley loved the beach, and we made a trip to the Point Loma lighthouse before we went home. 

Caleb & I at the Hotel Del Coronado

Sadly summer is over. We have gotten a short break from the heat, but I'm sure it will be back before it cools down. Soon enough it will time to pull out the fall decorations. Can't wait to bring out the sweaters and boots!

Thankfulness

It has been a rough couple of weeks, really most of a month, for me. I haven't felt like doing much thanks to a rough allergy season which turned into bronchitis. Or something about my asthma...all I really remember about the visit to the Dr. was that is isn't contagious(So I could still work even though I sound awful). I'm one of those flaky people who have a million questions walking in to the office visit and then can't remember to ask any of them and can't remember what the Dr. said. That's why I bring back up(poor Matt had to hold my purse). So basically this is just one of those crappy illnesses that I just have to be patient and wait it out. I haven't been a very happy camper lately as a result. I just want to take a magic pill and make it all go away. Thanks to my health conscious mother and amazing chiropractor, I know better than that. But still, very little sleep at night thanks to coughing makes for a very grumpy, even less motivated Katie. My loving husband has been very patient with me, and even more patient with getting less sleep than me and still going to work the next day.

So while I could just whine and complain about feeling crappy(and I'm sure Matt has had more than enough of that lately)...I do want to say that I am so very thankful to have the family and friends that I do. I obviously have a great husband to take care of me and encourage me to hang in there. I have some great friends like my best friend Sammy who regularly does fun things with me to get me out of my funk and Calian who always puts a smile on my face even if only texting me from Flagstaff(and makes me thankful for beautiful sunny days down here). I'm thankful for our crazy ridiculous dog who is always demanding attention in the most adorable way. I'm thankful for this house because it's a learning experience and I get to paint! I can't say that I mind having a long list of projects. And last but not least I'm just very thankful for where our lives have brought us and I'm excited for all the big things in our future.

Easter

This week we had our first holiday in our new home, which also happened to be the first holiday we've hosted ourselves. It was a great time and I enjoyed all the set up and decorating but it was quite an undertaking. All the extra space we thought we gained moving to this house seemed to disappear. The logistics of having 20 people over is confusing to say the least. I have so much respect for my mom doing this on a regular basis. That said, we were very happy to share our new home with our family and best friends for Easter. It was a very laid back day, we ate amazing food and sat on the patio. Thankfully it cooled down later in the day, it just happened to be the first weekend we had over 90 degree temperatures.

Sammy made adorable mini desserts & cupcakes

Tim in touch with his pretty side

Mama Schmitt

The kiddos were so cute, they didn't care that our backyard grass isn't growing yet. They just ran around hiding eggs in the dirt. Later we walked down to the park so they could run around, London came along and was so happy with all the attention she got the whole day. As a side note...we have also discovered that while she has many characteristics of a Husky like "talking" and digging, she is more German Shepard in her loyalty and does not take off if someone leaves the door open. We had her at the park and let go of her leash a few times, she just ran around getting attention from everyone.  Not that we're just going to let her roam around but it's nice to know that if someone let's her out on accident she won't take off and get lost as we have been warned.

Unfortunately this week hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows, I have bronchitis pretty bad. Thankfully the asthma and allergy kind not the contagious kind but I have not been a happy camper the past couple weeks. So if I've been rambling, I blame it on the cough syrup.

What a Week

 Once in awhile, it pays off to review. When I am looking for something, whether it be a restaurant or salon, I always visit Yelp first for recommendations. It comes in especially handy when we're traveling and I don't know the area. A few weeks back my best friend and I planned a girls night to see Wicked and had a less than stellar experience with a town car company. After posting a review on Yelp, I was contacted by the owner of the company with an apology and an offer to make it up to us. He definitely went above and beyond, finding us tickets to a Giants Spring Training game and giving us a ride there.

So Matt and I had a day date, which is pretty much our first weekend in a long time where we haven't had to do work on the house or other not so fun errands. It was a beautiful 80 degree day, nice and sunny. A little too sunny but we had fun. We had amazing seats, a few rows above the Giants dug out. Awesome.

This Sunday the girls all went to the Renaissance Festival. Thank goodness it was only 75 degrees since it was over 90 degrees Saturday. Sammy and I took my sister and her friend, and of course three of us had to dress up like weirdos, poor Sammy. We all got a bit of sun and met a very strange Jack Sparrow(wrong time period methinks). 

Charity & Emily

Getting sunburn

In sadder news, this week our family also had to say goodbye to the family dog. Gizmo has been a part of our family for 11 years, since I was in Jr. High. I still remember the day we got him. It seems so strange that he could get old because he's always been my puppy, even while I was busy growing up. He was my baby, always happy to see whoever walked in the door(he was a terrible watch dog), and the best snuggler. He was happiest being held like a baby or perched on the back of the couch where he could see everybody. It was so sad when he started getting sick, but I'm glad he died peacefully in his sleep and didn't have to be put down the next day. We all got a chance to snuggle him the night before, kiss his little head, and say goodbye. I'll miss my little guy, it is still strange to go to my parents and not hear him come tapping his paws down the hall to see me. Love you Gizmo(aka gizmotron, gizzy, and gismof the incredible)!

Gizmo-Halloween 2009

St. Patrick's Day

There was much fun to be had at the Ellis house this year for St. Patty's Day. We had some great friends over and Matt's family for dinner. We made corned beef sliders, green deviled eggs(NOT my idea, I could barely bring myself to eat them the green weirded me out), and corned beef & cabbage. I'm quite proud of my own cooking/baking projects. I made Concannon (from this recipe)for the first time, it turned out very yummy if I do say so myself. It was very easy, I look forward to making it again and adding some bacon. I also made rainbow cupcakes from a Pinterest idea. I have since eaten way more cupcakes then is good for me.

Pot O' Gold cupcakes

So much potatoes!

We headed out to downtown Chandler for the Irish Republic's St. Patty's Day festival. I love Irish Republic(formally Murphy's Law) but the festival ended up being too many people and not too much to do. The crazy wind didn't help. Plus I never really enjoy paying admission and then having to buy drink and food tickets on top of that. So we headed back home to watch movies and of course to take some pictures since we never remember to.

Sammy & I

Lacey & Rob with their Sears shirts

Getting sleepy, when did 11 PM get late?

Of course Matt & I didn't happen to be in any pictures together, we need to change that. Oh and that green wall was my project for the week. Didn't mean for it to get painted green in honor of St. Patty's Day, it just worked out that way! Our Irish flag has since found a new home in our outdoor bar area in progress. All our outdoor projects have been put on hold since our wonderful Arizona weather decided to turn cold and rainy for a few days. I can't wait for it to be back up to 80 degrees and sunny that's for sure.