Our Hawaii Home (Before and After)

I'm not sure if I ever really went into detail about the CRAZY housing market here in Hawaii. Obviously, it makes sense because it is a small island and many people live here, there is a high demand for housing. Also, with the numerous military bases, you have a constant influx of people fighting over the very few listings that are out there. In total, we probably looked at 20 + rentals. When we arrived, we checked into Navy Housing to see about a house in the privatized housing. We were offered a home in Pearl City, which was a super cute historic home, but the commute for Kyle would have been almost 1 hour each way because of the traffic and congestion. Not to mention, that Pearl City is on the Leeward side of the island which doesn't get the trade winds so you have to run your AC all the time! It was hard to give up the Pearl City home because I was SO ready to be settled, but I knew I could never have Kyle sit in traffic 1 hour each way. He would not be a happy camper and it would just add to his already long days!

We basically had a home in Lanikai Beach that Kyle absolutely loved! There were a few caveats for me though. The owner had furniture in the home that he was not willing to remove and it was BAD furniture, the landlord was super unpleasant and they wanted to charge an additional deposit of $1000 to allow Macey Jane. There were just too many wrongs. Meanwhile the landlord played games with us for a week while he communicated with the owner in Germany. So, during this time I LIVED on Craigslist and was determined to find a place for us. We were waiting in my doctor's office for my first appointment with my new doctor and so naturally I pulled up Craigslist. I saw a new posting for a 3 bedroom townhome within our price range and the pictures looked nice, so I emailed the landlord. By the time we left the appointment, she had emailed me back telling me to stop by.

Every time we would go to look at a place, I would get super nervous because it was almost like we were interviewing for the place instead of the other way around. We got here and I was super excited because I saw the potential that this place had. Kyle on the other hand was holding out for the Lanikai house. We walked around and chatted with the owner and she was willing to accept Macey with no deposit and she was super-laid back and actually nice to us. Something we hadn't experienced with the property managers here in Hawaii. We left the house and I was super excited. We got about 10 minutes down the road and I told Kyle we need to go back because if we didn't we would lose this house. I ended up calling the owner and asking if she would please hold the place. She gave me her word that she wouldn't show the unit to anyone else until we made a decision. Of course, I didn't really believe this, but I had to have hope.

The next day, I met her back at the unit to give her a deposit. She held her word and never showed it to anyone else. She received over 150 emails on this place!!!!

So, here are some before and afters of our lovely Hawaii home! We could not be happier here!

Kitchen 

 I was originally worried about space, but I almost feel like this kitchen has more space than my Jacksonville kitchen! It's been spacious and it has a dishwasher which is NOT common here in Hawaii!

Dining/Entry 

I'm really happy with how this space came together! It is small and the main entrance that we use is to the left. We have 2 dining tables back home, but we didn't bring them because of space. I ordered this table, which is actually a craft table, on Target.com because I thought it would be perfect in an office or laundry room in our next house for crafting or sewing! It's not the best quality, but it does what we need! Still trying to find baskets to fit on the shelves! But it has lots of storage and that is a huge plus here!

This was the light fixture that was previous in the dining/entry and I couldn't stand it! So, Kyle installed the one above from Home Depot! I think it turned out great! 

 

Living Room 

 We had the house painted before we moved in and after a Facebook poll, I got some great ideas for colors! We did the Living Room in Bleeker Beige from Benjamin Moore! I'm really happy with how it turned out! The living room has windows on both sides so we get a really nice breeze through the house!

I still love our Crate and Barrel leaning bookshelves and bar. The movers disassembled them before the move and they traveled really well! 

Utilizing all of our space with this desk from Target.com in the corner of the living room!

                                     

Stairs leading to Bedrooms

Master Bedroom 

We painted this room Revere Pewter and we love the way it turned out! We also have a small ocean view from our bedroom window!

Master Bedroom Color before Painting! Yikes!

Bathroom Before and After 

The upstairs bathroom was not my favorite, but after some love I like the way it turned out! I ordered the shower curtain from Pottery Barn and of course I love all things monogrammed! :) Behind the door, there is a small door that opens into an attic. That has been a god send to store all of the items that we aren't using or didn't have space for! 

Guest Bedroom 

I got these prints in Italy last summer and I was really hoping to use them in Hawaii! I got the frames from Crate and Barrel before we left. I have a few of these frames. I just love the classic look of them! We decided not to paint this room because we didn't mind the color, but we didn't have bedding to match, so we bought new bedding and these prints matched perfectly! 

Nursery

We still have a LONG way to go on this room, but at least it is clear of boxes! The pack and play is for my nephew who will be visiting in 2 weeks! 

Baby C's closet is growing already! 

Upstairs Hallway 

Courtyard 

Kyle planted these last weekend. The plant in the back is a bird of paradise! I hope it blooms soon! 

I hung these lights and got the planters a few weeks ago! Flowers make everything prettier! 

It's been fun decorating and putting a new place together! I hope you enjoyed the pictures! 

Trip to Bellows Beach and Weekend Adventures!

On Saturday, we ventured to Bellow's Air Force Station in Waimanalo! Bellow's is only about 25 minutes from our house and it is a beautiful, secluded beach! You can rent little cabins or bring your own tent and camp on the beach. There isn't a whole lot of military activity going on, it is more of a support base and for MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) We were invited out by one of Kyle's co-workers who was spending the weekend there camping! 

   

Kyle ready for a beach day with our AMAZING Tommy Bahama Beach Chairs! If you are looking for a beach chair, these are the best hands down. You really don't even need a beach bag, as they have built in pockets and coolers and a holder for your drink and phone! You can click the link above to see the chairs!

After the beach, we ventured to Honolulu to try out REAL a gastropub! We had heard really great things and for once, I didn't feel exhausted at 6:00pm, so we decided to venture out! I had an Erdinger Non-Alcoholic Wheat Beer which was pretty tasty and Kyle had a Maui Bikini Blonde Beer. 

We ordered a few different things to snack on including, Pretzel Bites with Beer Cheese, Buffalo Fried Deviled Eggs (the best thing I have had since being on this island), Poke and North Carolina BBQ Sliders. It was nice to have a taste of home as I don't love all the Hawaiian cuisine and pupus (appetizers)! We really enjoyed the food! The restaurant doesn't have the best atmosphere as there really isn't a view, nor is it anything super special, but the awesome food and beer selection makes up for that!

Pretzel Bites and Buffalo Fried Deviled Eggs

In an effort to follow my doctor's orders, I've been having dessert the past couple of nights! I have been dying to try the crepe place in Kailua called Crepes No Ka 'Oi. Talk about delicious and so cute! It is a full service restaurant offering savory and sweet crepes. Of course, it was a no-brainer to order the Lover's Delight! Banana, Strawberries and Nutella with Whipped Cream! It was the perfect dessert for Kyle and I to share!

We had a great weekend and the weather was oh so beautiful! Have a good week! One of my priorities is doing a blog post on our Hawaii home! I am excited to share our before and afters and what we have done with the place :)

18 Weeks Bumpdate!

Wow, another week behind us! It is crazy because time seems to be flying whereas in the beginning of this pregnancy, time couldn't go by quick enough! Now, I am almost halfway there and the checklist of things to do before the baby comes is growing exponentially!

It was great to have an extra day off with Kyle in celebration of President's Day! We had a relaxing day and Kyle was excited to get a new TV for the living room! We sold our big TV before we left Jacksonville because we couldn't see it traveling well and sitting it storage for 2 months plus! I'm not big into TVs, but I do like the picture quality and it fits nicely in our living room! :)

I woke up on Wednesday with another cold! :( This will be the 6th one of my pregnancy. I had to work on Tuesday and Wednesday, but I powered through and came home and crashed. I was a couch potato for most of Thursday and then I had a doctor's appointment later in the afternoon. It's so hard for me to sit still because I am busy body, but I do feel much better today. So, I think the rest and fluids definitely helped! Being pregnant, there aren't too many medications that you can take, so I rely heavily on saline spray, Afrin and Tylenol (in limited quantities).

Macey Jane is the best snuggler when I'm sick!

My doctor's appointment went well. We reviewed the anatomy scan and everything looks great. She is measuring right on track. My doctor did mention that weight gain at 20 weeks should be about 10 lbs and I am actually still in the negative. Being sick this week didn't help the weight gain cause, but she told me to not be surprised if I come back in for my next appointment and I have gained 7-10 lbs. She said it can come on quickly. I don't know why/how my body has struggled to gain weight because this never has been a problem for me before. I eat/snack all day, primarily healthy things and I do exercise, but the weight loss is baffling to me. Oh well, most people tell me to be grateful. I would be concerned if baby was underweight, but she is just right! :)

After the appointment, Kyle and I ventured to the Kailua Farmer's Market. We had never been and it was nice to check out this great event! Kyle got some sushi tacos with ahi tuna on a fried cucumber with spicy mayo. I had one bite and it was delicious! He also had pad thai and I had macaroni and cheese and a strawberry lemonade. They have a large selection of produce as well. I picked up this orchid for the house for $8! Oh and I can't forget the homemade ice cream we had too! Kyle had cookies and cream and I had strawberry (can you tell I have a thing for strawberries right now?)

My orchid! Now, I just need a pretty pot!

How far along? 18 weeks
Total weight gain/loss:  down 10 lbs 
Maternity clothes: Mostly shirts! Pants and regular dresses still fit
Stretch marks? None
Sleep? I ended up getting a body pillow and that has been working out well. It is alot with Macey in there too, but we manage! I get up about 3 times per night to go to the bathroom, so that isn't the best for my sleep!
Miss Anything? My sweet Robby and Chick-fil-a (I've been craving a sandwich from there)
Movement: Last night I felt like she was punching me! I literally had to grab my stomach and I kind of curled up in a ball. I tried to lay down so Kyle could see/feel but nothing yet! 
Food cravings? Strawberries, Vanilla Greek Yogurt and Mexican (which I could not even hear the word Mexican in the 1st tri without feeling queasy, Kyle's happy my love for it has returned!)
Anything making you sick or queasy?  Some of the Asian food at the Farmer's Market. Eww, it's so weird and Kyle eats it! YUCK!
 Gender: It's a GIRL!! :) 
Symptoms: Movement, Lower Back Pain, Bump actually feels smaller this week!
Labor signs? Nope
Belly button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or moody most of the time?  Happy
Worst moment this week: Being sick! It is no fun! 
 Best moment this week:  Feeling better in time for the weekend and the forecast looks beautiful so lots of beach time! :)  
Looking forward to:  My family coming to visit in a little less than 3 weeks and my virtual baby shower which will also take place while they are here. 
Baby info: Baby is the size of a mango. She weighs a 1/2 pound! Her legs are now proportionate to her arms, so maybe that's why I am feeling those kicks now! 

Enjoy your weekend! I know I'll be savoring every moment! 

17 Weeks Bumpdate!

This week flew by! We almost have the house completely done, but the nursery is still acting as a holding spot for boxes and miscellaneous things, but we are hoping to tackle that project this weekend. We are still waiting on a few things to be delivered. We really just didn't know how big our place would be here, so we played it safe and left lots of stuff back in Florida in storage. I think we did a great job of gauging the amount of stuff we could realistically fit!

We celebrated Valentine's Day with massages and a great dinner at home! I even celebrated with a little Sparkling Grape Juice! Yum! We watched the movie Valentine's Day and put together our new kitchen table! 

She loves her hands up by her face!

Baby C looking at us straight on!

Happy after a great appointment seeing our girl!

It has rained ALL weekend, despite being beautiful all week, so we did not make it to the beach for my bump pic! :( 

How far along? 17 weeks
Total weight gain/loss:  down 9 lbs 
Maternity clothes: Yes! I've been wearing the t-shirts with the elastic on the side. I love the Old Navy ones. They are super comfy and accentuate my bump!
Stretch marks? None
Sleep? Ehh, it was ok this week. Thinking about buying a Snoogli to sleep better on my side and have better support. Problem is, Macey Jane sleeps as close as possible to me, so I'm not sure how the Snoogli with get in the way of her snuggling! :)
Miss Anything? Nope
Movement: I was told at my ultrasound that I have anterior placenta. When the placenta develops, it grows on the front side of your uterus, which means that the baby is behind. There are no health risks, but my doctor said I might not feel as much movement early on because of this. She was playing alot last night and this morning! So I am not worried. 
Food cravings? Pop Tarts! So weird! I passed them in the grocery store and couldn't resist... AGAIN. No donuts this week... YET!
Anything making you sick or queasy?  No, been pretty good. 
 Gender: It's a GIRL!! :) 
Symptoms: Movement, and definitely a growing, hardening bump!
Labor signs? Nope
Belly button in or out? In, woke up Saturday and it was definitely sore from the pulling
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or moody most of the time?  Happy! This week was pretty good! Looking forward to a 3 day weekend with Kyle! 
Worst moment this week: Hmmm.. can't come up with one!
 Best moment this week:  Seeing the baby at our ultrasound. We had a great ultrasound tech, Mari, who was so great and super excited for us! She spent 30 minutes with us before the doctor came in. Also, getting a great report that everything looks great and she has all 10 fingers and toes! 
Looking forward to:  Follow up appointment with my doctor to review the anatomy scan, the 3 day weekend and deciding on furniture for the nursery!
Baby info: Baby is the size of a sweet potato. She measured 6 oz. in the ultrasound. Her ears are fully developed and she can now hear my voice! :)

Counting your Blessings... Every Day

This post may seem to start off cliche and be lengthy, but it is something that has been on my mind the past few days. Life happens so quick and too many times we get caught up in the trials and tribulations and we don't have the time or energy to stop and think about what is really happening in our lives. We are all guilty of this in one way or another.

Over the past few months, our family has experienced lots of changes. From Kyle returning from deployment, to finding out we were pregnant, to living in a hotel for months upon end and moving halfway across the world, our life has been pretty eventful. I've tried to take every event and make it a positive experience instead of a challenge, but this isn't always easy! I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't thrilled about moving to Hawaii. It was far, touristy, expensive and once again far from family. But, the silver lining about moving to Hawaii was that Kyle would be attached to a shore based staff and wouldn't do 6 months or longer for deployment. Kyle worked hard to get qualified during his first tour to get this job and he really earned the right for the position. 

With that said, a lot had to be done to get us here. Macey Jane had extensive vet appointments and a stateside quarantine to qualify her to enter Hawaii, not to mention her admission to the state was not cheap. We also had to sell Kyle's car because we could only ship one vehicle and finally, we had to plan our move to Hawaii with a month long stop in Virginia Beach for training. It doesn't sound like much, but it was taxing, especially because I was doing most of this alone and my communication with Kyle was limited. Sometimes I just wanted to throw my hands up and be done with the whole thing. We found out we would be moving to Hawaii on May 3, 2013. 

Fast forward 8 months and we are finally here, in Hawaii and I could not be happier. The first few weeks were hard getting adjusted, but once we got settled, I really started loving this place! We found a house that we have made a home, we are close to the beach, base, great restaurants, etc., Kyle has settled into his job and is enjoying it, I have several nannying jobs and most importantly we are TOGETHER in this amazing place! To say I am blessed is the biggest understatement ever. 

We had an ultrasound today and got to see our sweet baby. Kyle met me there from work so after the appointment we drove back home separately. On the drive home, I started thinking "how can life be this good" or "this isn't real life" or "how can life get any better than this". I think of that clothing company "Life is Good" and I know it is so cliche, but that statement could not be more true in my life right now. And, I know that life is going to get better when we welcome our daughter into this world. 

On the flipside, I know this is NOT true for many people. They face constant struggles whether it be health issues, money troubles, job losses, etc. I also know that your whole world can be turned upside down in an instant! So, enjoy your life NOW! You never know what tomorrow may bring. If you are brought blessings from the Man upstairs, pay it forward! Be kind, do a good deed, help someone who is struggling and most importantly, count your blessings!

I was inspired to write this post for a number of reasons, but one of the main reasons I was inspired was because of a miracle that has happened in my life. First and foremost, the fact that I am carrying Kyle and I's child is a miracle in itself. Being pregnant has allowed me a whole new perspective on life. 

Most of you know that I have a sister, Ashley, who is my best friend. She is 4 years older than me and lives in Miami. She owns a commercial real estate company and is a mommy to Robby, my sweet nephew, who will be 2 in April. From my previous blog post, you know that Kyle and I's journey to parenthood was quite... instant! My sister and her husband didn't have the same experience. They tried to conceive for over 2 years and Ashley was told she wouldn't be able to have children without medical intervention. That is a HARD pill to swallow. After a few different treatments, lots of praying and enormous heartache, they got pregnant with Robby in July 2012. He was the first grandchild for my mom and a little baby we all wanted so bad. We loved him from the minute she said she was pregnant! He was born in April and I got to spend the first week of his life with him. Talk about being on cloud nine. He was such a miracle, every baby is. Fast forward to today and Robby is almost 2. They always knew they wanted to have more kids, but thought maybe they would go back to the specialist in summer of 2014 to start trying. 

Robert Henry Hux Thornburg- 1 day old 

Over Thanksgiving, we flew back to Florida from Virginia and Kyle and I announced our pregnancy to our families at Thanksgiving dinner. The following weekend the Hux and Chance families met us in Williamsburg, VA and we had a great family weekend. Ashley wasn't feeling well and threw up on Friday, she didn't think anything of it, but just didn't feel great. Then on Sunday, she threw up again. My mom, being a nurse, was skeptical and said we need to go buy a pregnancy test. But, Ashley said it was impossible and don't get your hopes up. My mom went into Food Lion to get some groceries and bought one. We went back to our hotel and all 5 of us waited in the other room while Ashley peed on the stick. About a minute later, her and her husband appeared in the doorway with the biggest grins on their face. Wait, how is this possible!? No way? Oh my goodness! Tears! Were some on the reactions. Of course we were elated; sisters pregnant at the same time. We started doing some math and using our pregnancy calculators to try to determine when she was due. Ashley has pretty bad pregnancies and was sick from 6w1d to 16 weeks with Robby. By my calculations, Ashley was due August 1 and on the Friday she got sick, she would have been 6w1d. On Monday, we all flew back home and her doctor confirmed her due date of August 1st, exactly ONE WEEK behind me. If this isn't a miracle, I don't know what is! I couldn't be more excited to share this experience with my sister and I'm even more happy that she didn't have to go through the stress, anxiety and unknown of fertility treatments. Because Ashley and I are so close, I experienced all of those emotions and my heart goes out to anyone who struggles with infertility. It was also a constant fear that I would have similar problems. You can't imagine how BLESSED I felt when we conceived so quickly. 

With our positive tests- December 8, 2013

So, count your blessings everyday, love your family to the fullest, turn challenges into positive experiences and live in the NOW! I promise, you won't regret it! 

Ok, I'm off my soapbox!