Cloudy with a Chance of Sprinkles

See my full blog at: www.cloudywithachanceofsprinkles.com Cloudy with a Chance of Sprinkles follows my day to day life from cooking to cleaning, budgeting to party planning, and many other somewhat 'cloudy' day to day things. More importantly though, it will chronicle my experiments in this thing called motherhood and hopefully keep a great record of those extra special moments 'sprinkled' throughout. My name is Brittany and this is my blog! I am a 24 year old wife and mother. My family and I currently reside in Fishers, Indiana which is just outside Indianapolis. I have a degree in Finance and Business Administration from Indiana University but I am currently a stay at home mom and could not be happier! Parenting is my passion and my family is my life. Cloudy with a Chance of Sprinkles covers a wide variety of topics. I hope that you find something interesting to you. I plan to post often about my parenting ventures from cloth diapering to play dates and everything in between. I love decorating and DIY projects so there will be that as well. Over the past year our family has adapted to a Paleo Lifestyle. We do have our cheat days and make room for special treats every once in a while but for the most part there are no grains and no refined sugar in this house. I also want to help those of you on a budget a.k.a. everyone. With a husband in dental school and a little one, money is tight so I will share the deals I find with you and maybe some budgeting tips along the way. Lastly, I love a good party or event but what I really love is the planning. I will share the events and parties that I plan with you and hopefully give you some ideas for your own.

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A New Chapter, A New Home

It is so incredibly hard to believe that Danny will be graduating from Dental School in just a couple of weeks! The last 4 years have seemed to fly by! 

We started this journey at 21 years old, just a month after we were married. 

Throughout the next 4 years we moved twice, I changed jobs twice, and we eventually added Ella and Jack to the mix. 

This last year of dental school has been quite crazy, not only adding Jack to our family but also filled with the entire process of residency applications, testing, interviews, and boards. Just a couple of months ago we found out that Danny was accepted into Houston's Oral Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program, an awesome achievement! 

Shortly after celebrating we realized this brought on an exciting challenge for us. We needed to find a house in Houston while still living in Indiana, no easy task. Well, after a lot of time on the phone, viewing a ton of property photos, watching a few videos of homes taken by our Realtor, putting in offers on 3 homes, negotiating, signing, negotiating again, and traveling to Texas for one day for the inspections....we finally got a house! 

The process was intense but it was worth it. We are so excited to have a fenced in yard for our kiddos to play in, to have an attached garage for the first time ever, and to have a really nice kitchen! The house does need some work to make it our own but I am looking forward to many DIY projects in the future. We are certainly going to miss our family and friends here in Indiana, but this new journey will be filled with greatness I am sure. It is definitely going to be a big change for all of us but we will get through it together and Ella, Jack, and I will be supporting Danny all the way through. 

Here are a few (before) pictures of our new home. 

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Easter

This year we headed up north to celebrate Easter with our families. It was so nice to see everyone another time before we move (more on that later). Ella got to take part in 2 Easter Egg Hunts, which she loved! She has asked if we get to find eggs almost every day since we got home. 

Danny's side of the family celebrated at his parent's home. Everything was beautiful and Ella had such a blast playing with her cousins. 

My side of the family celebrated at my parent's cabin. This was a nice change of pace for us. My mom had an Easter Egg Hunt for us 'big kids' as well. We have fun with that every year! Ella had a ton of fun exploring in the woods and going on walks to find flowers. 

Jack slept nearly the entire day but I enjoyed showing him off none the less. He is such an amazingly easy going baby. 

Here are a few photos from the festivities.

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Jack's Delivery After finding out, at nearly 41 weeks pregnant, that Jack was not in ideal positioning for a natural birth, Danny and I, along with my Doctor, decided that the safest option for delivery was a c section. Although our c section was scheduled, things did not go as expected. My doctor had a very difficult time delivering Jack. It took much longer than expected. Jack's cord was wrapped twice around his neck, something we nor my doctor were aware of. Once he was delivered and suctioned he did not begin breathing on his own right away. Luckily the NICU team was right there able to rush in. They were able to get him breathing in about a minute, the longest minute of my life. Here are some photos from Jack's delivery, some are graphic, but they tell a story that I will never forget and cannot do justice in words.

Jack Hudson is doing wonderfully! He was born at 9:24am on February 17th at 21 inches and 7 lbs 12 oz. He is now over 8 lbs and 21.5 inches. We are so excited to watch this little man grow and could not be more thankful for our amazing and healthy baby boy! http://ift.tt/1fqYGP9

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40 Weeks! I know I say this at just about every update, but I cannot believe my pregnancy is almost over! Jack could be here any day. Recently at my OB appointments they have begun doing ultrasounds again to check his positioning. Unfortunately, as of last week, he was still not in the correct position for a natural delivery. 2 weeks ago he was transverse (Ella was transverse around the same time in my first pregnancy). Last week he had rotated and was breech. This week I have another ultrasound scheduled, hopefully he will have turned in the right direction so I don't have to schedule a c-section.

How far along? 40 Weeks Size of baby: Approx. the size of a pumpkin (20 inches long and approx. 7.5 pounds) Total weight gain/loss: 35 pounds Maternity clothes? Definitely, yes Stretch marks? No Sleep: Great Miss Anything? My ankles Movement: Yes, a lot of shifting and pressure Food cravings: Not really Anything making you queasy or sick: The thought of possibly having to have a c-section :( Have you started to show yet: Yes, definitely Gender: Boy Labor Signs: Dilated a little over 1 Mood: Super excited for Jack's arrival but nervous about him turning Looking forward to: Baby cuddles and introducing Ella to her brother http://ift.tt/1fYP0Lt

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Snow Day!

This winter has been absolutely crazy! We have had record low temperatures and lots of snow. Last night we got a ton of snow but luckily it wasn't that cold...I mean the temperature was above zero, that is warm right?! The dental school closed, so Danny has been home, which is awesome! We took advantage of both Daddy time and the slightly warmer temp.s by playing outside. Ella had so much fun! She loved eating the snow more than anything and definitely would have stayed out there all day if we had let her. We actually had to do some major convincing to get her to come inside for a warm up break. Here are some pics from our snow day fun.

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35 Weeks!

Almost done!! Only 5 weeks left until my due date! I am so ready for this little man to join us in the outside world. I am actually measuring a little over a week ahead right now, so he may be here before his due date, which would be great! Lately I have become pretty uncomfortable at times. Jack really enjoys putting a lot of pressure on my ribs and I have been enjoying some pretty strong but infrequent and irregular contractions too. Luckily with the bad comes good and I have loved having a sudden burst of energy the past few weeks as well. I am nesting like a crazy person and loving every clean organized minute of it! 

How far along? 35 Weeks

Size of baby: Approx. the size of a honeydew melon (18 inches long and approx. 5.25 pounds) Total weight gain/loss: 30 pounds Maternity clothes? Definitely, yes Stretch marks? No Sleep: Some nights are great and others my mind races Miss Anything? Comfort Movement: Yes, strong sudden movements and a lot of shifting and pressure Food cravings: Not really food but I always want juice lately Anything making you queasy or sick: No Have you started to show yet: Yes, definitely Gender: Boy Labor Signs: A lot of braxton hicks but nothing official yet Mood: Super excited and nesting like a crazy lady Looking forward to: Baby cuddles http://ift.tt/KGl239

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Christmas with our Families

This year we spent Christmas Eve with my side of the family and Christmas Day with Danny's side.  Here are some of the photos we were able to capture from our trip up North. 

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He's 25!

The day after Christmas Danny turned 25! I can't believe he is already halfway to 50, what an old man! This year holds a lot for him and I can't wait to experience every change by his side. Soon we will find out where he will be going for residency in oral maxillofacial surgery, Jack will be born, he will graduate from a Mr. to a Doctor, and we will be moving and hopefully buying a home. We were still out of town over his birthday so I made him a cake and we went out to dinner while Ella stayed with my parents. When we got back in town the following day he was able to open his gifts from Ella and I. Here are a few pictures from his big day.

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A Little Girl and her Fort

This year for Christmas Ella's Grandma made her a tabletop play house.  She is one lucky girl! It turned out perfect and Ella loves it.  She had fun playing inside and out with her stuffed animals, dolls, books, you name it. She even enjoyed her snack in her new fort. I know she will love this for quite some time. I can't wait to get it out for her again!

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Our Little Family Christmas

This year we celebrated Christmas a little early since we were going out of town over the actual holiday. We started a new tradition of opening our family gifts the night before Santa comes. This worked out so well for Ella. She had 2 days to spread out all of her gifts and was much more attentive and less overwhelmed by all of her new fun toys! It is crazy to think that this is our last Christmas as a family of 3 and that next year we will have a 3 year old and a 10 month old to spoil!! Since this was Ella's last Christmas as our only munchkin she got a little extra spoiled. A few of her favorite gifts were her Rody, marble run, wooden doorbell dollhouse, cleaning set, wooden animal and alphabet magnets, and her farm. Seeing her face Christmas Morning was priceless. I wish I could surprise that little girl every morning like that. We had a great time celebrating together as a little family before heading out of town. There are plenty more pictures to come from our travels.

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Christmas Cookies

I look forward to making Christmas cookies pretty much all year long. I love coming up with something a little different every year and I think it is a wonderful tradition for my little family, especially Ella and I. This year she got to pick out the frosting colors all on her own.  I wasn't sure what she would come up with but they actually turned out really cute, non-traditional but cute! As usual she got to be my taste tester for both the buttercream frosting and the finished sugar cookies. She loved both, maybe a little too much! Tonight, once Danny gets home, she is going to decorate her very own cookie. I will do another post on that fun a little later. 

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Ella's Girly Choo Choo 2nd Birthday Party

Our little girl is TWO (well, not officially until Tuesday)!!! This year flew by and she has turned into a little lady already! On Saturday we were blessed to celebrate with friends and family from near and far. Ella had a wonderful time, got tons of gifts, and got to eat way too much sugar! This little girl is absolutely obsessed with trains, so I went with a train theme and put a twist on it by making it super girly. I think it turned out pretty cute. Here are just some of our photos from Ella's big day.

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30 Weeks

It is hard to believe that I am 75% of the way through this pregnancy already! Just 10 more short weeks until I get to meet my little man! I am feeling pretty decent still, definitely pregnant but still decent. Compared to the beginning of my pregnancy I am feeling absolutely amazing. Lately my only real complaints are feeling squished from the inside out and constant heartburn to the point where I am almost certain I resemble a fire breathing dragon. Today I have another OB appointment. I am excited to hear the sound of Jack's little heart beating again. I am to the point in my pregnancy where I see the Dr. every 2 weeks, and very soon I will be going in every week. Ella has started to understand a little more about where 'her baby' is but I don't really think she will get it until he is here. She knows that he lives in Momma's belly, but occasionally he escaped and lives in her belly too. (Not so sure how that works) 

How far along? 30 Weeks Size of baby: Approx. the size of a loaf of bread (16 inches long and approx. 3 pounds) Total weight gain/loss: 25 pounds Maternity clothes? Definitely wearing them nowadays Stretch marks? No Sleep: Great Miss Anything? Laying on my stomach Movement: Yes, a lot of movement and they are becoming stronger Food cravings: I am beginning to lose my appetite because I constantly feel full from being squished Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really Have you started to show yet: Yes, definitely Gender: Boy Labor Signs: None, hopefully for another 10 weeks Mood: Super excited Looking forward to: Seeing my little man http://ift.tt/1biV8eI

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Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

This year Thanksgiving seems to have been skipped over in our home. It is so late this year that it already is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. I couldn't hold out on starting to decorate, so I just got a jump start and went with it. Usually our Christmas decor is super colorful and modern but this year I wanted to do something a little different. I have a slight obsession with burlap lately so I wanted to incorporate some more natural elements and colors into our Christmas decoration. Ella and I made our own cinnamon ornaments and glittered them up to make them a little girlier and I added some plain wood and paper ornaments to finish it off. I have already started shopping and wrapping as well. I am using Kraft paper and twine to wrap all of our gifts this year and loving it! We had fun kick starting our holiday season as a family. Ella had the most fun putting the ornaments on the tree and decorating our windows with winter window stickers. She is getting so big, I absolutely cannot believe this will be her 3rd Christmas!!!! I am looking forward to finishing up our decorating and doing many many more holiday crafts with my little munchkin! Happy Holidays!!

You can find the recipe I used here

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Indoor Toddler Fun

Lately, with the weather becoming colder, I have had to be a little creative with keeping Ella busy and entertained. It has actually turned out to be easier than I had thought, thankfully. Recently, she has enjoyed decorating our refrigerator with a dry erase marker and playing with bubbles and water in the bathroom sink. She seems to be easily entertained so far this fall...I can only hope that lasts until Spring. Here are some pictures of my little cutie having fun.

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Halloween Trick or Treating

  Due to the weather, our trick or treating was moved to November 1st. This turned out great for us, the evening was beautiful! Ella had so much fun exploring the neighborhood, getting candy, and meeting new people and their pets. She got so excited when she would see a dog in costume. We ended up with way too much candy by the end of the night. Here are some pictures from our spook-tacular night. 

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Acorns

The other day I took Ella on a wagon ride to the park to find acorns. I gave her a bucket and let her have fun. We got a little distracted by the swings and slides but still ended up with plenty of acorns for a little fall decoration. She had fun picking some berries off of the bushes nearby and chasing squirrels up the trees. We love beautiful fall days!!

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