Change of plans

Since we decided to leave Hudson and start our adventure with traveling, we've learned so much. We've experienced so much... both very good things and very bad. We've both grown up a lot in the last 5 years since leaving our home in Ohio. We've lived in 4 different states, 7 different cities/towns, bought our first house, and we're now expecting our first baby! Somehow it seems like it had to have been a lot longer than 5 years, but it's only been 5. 

I'm so glad we decided to explore travel nursing. It gave us so many great opportunities to travel, see family, and experience new things that we may have never experienced otherwise. 

Throughout the entire experience, we noticed that it seemed to be getting more and more difficult. It started out as little things... travel jobs not being ideal, not loving where we were living, little hiccups with rentals... nothing huge and we always thought "no big deal, it'll get better as we go". It didn't... it seemed to be getting worse and worse with every move that we made. We just kept telling ourselves that it would get better. It had to, right? 

We had just moved to our last rental in East Greenwich, RI when everything fell apart in a rental/landlord nightmare. We had just moved in and had been living there for 2 weeks. We realized (on our own) that the house was unsafe for us to live in, and especially to bring a baby into. Mice and a roach infestation. It was a nice little secret that we found out on our own and was never mentioned by the landlords. It was the last straw and a complete nightmare. From there, the landlords showed their true colors. 

Sometimes... you just realize that it's time to stop fighting it and throw in the towel. It's not giving up, but sometimes it's just learning the really hard way that things are just not working out, no matter how badly you want them to. 

We wrapped and quarantined all of our things, left quite a few things in Rhode Island, stayed in a hotel that night, and left for Ohio the next day. 

Like I said, we learned so much and I'll keep it vague because honestly, I could write all day about all of the things that didn't work out and the things that did. I honestly don't wish to relive those last 2 weeks in Rhode Island by writing them here. Overall we're both really lucky to have had the experience and learned so much from it. Even if it was short-lived and even if things didn't end up the way we expected or wanted. 

We wanted so badly to live in a place where we love vacationing. Let me tell you one thing... if you can pull off living somewhere that you love vacationing to, that's awesome and more props to you! It sounds like a dream. But remember that you bring all of the daily stress, work, bills, and everything else with you to that vacation. It can be really great, but it's also very different than leaving all of that behind and just going on a vacation... and there's something to be said about that. 

So now... we're back in Ohio, 5 years later with a little baby on the way :)

Baby Brown is coming to town

Big changes have been happening at the Brown household! Baby Brown is set to arrive around October 2nd and we're so excited to meet our little guy.

At week 19, the horrible morning sickness (which just so happened to start at 6 weeks on the 1,000+ mile drive from TN to RI...) seems to be wrapping up for the most part and meds are no longer needed (yay!). Food aversions are getting a tiny bit better, although Jerrod learned yesterday that cooking burgers indoors still does not end well for me... Rule of thumb - if it's on a breakfast menu or if a picky 5 year old would eat it, sign me up. Bear has been my little shadow for the last couple of months and has been a good support buddy. He comes in and leans on me in the bathroom when I'm sick. Poor guy probably thinks I'm dying! He also thinks my baby bump is a nice pillow.

Baby Brown seems to be a bit like the both of us already... seems to get really excited about cars and flips around quite a bit while driving (gets that from Jerrod) and seems to get really hangry and kicks/punches me when hungry (gets that from his mama!). I've been feeling kicks since week 14 and Jerrod was able to feel them for the first time this past weekend.

We're getting ready to move into a new rental house next week and the house is pretty perfect for getting started with a little baby :) It'll be nice to sign a long-term lease, get settled in, and enjoy some nice weather (while being fairly sick-free, fingers crossed) before he arrives.

Next stop... Rhode Island!

It's been a very busy three months! Three months goes by pretty fast on its own with all of the new changes with moving, but turns out that it goes into hyper speed with the addition of holidays and multiple work trips. I have absolutely no idea where the last 13 weeks have gone. As of this week, Jerrod's first travel assignment will be wrapped up in Tennessee and we'll be on our way to the next in Rhode Island this weekend! 

I'm so excited to move back to the ocean state and both of us have a to-do list composed of:

1. Arrive and do happy dance

2. Find crab cakes  

Pretty sure Bear is going to lose his mind when he sees the ocean for the first time :) Or a crab. Maybe I'll be a little better about updating this blog this time, too. Wouldn't hold my breath on that, but that's the goal. 

Here's to new adventures in Rhode Island! 

The next chapter...

A LOT has happened in the last month. 

We've changed our lifestyle, pretty drastically. Jerrod accepted an amazing position as a travel nurse! They told us that once he accepted, things would move pretty fast. I don't think either of us knew exactly how fast that was going to be. 

Let's just say, we found out he was accepted, found out we were moving to TN (at the end of the month), found out I was able to work remotely, and had an accepted offer on our house... all within a week! 

Before all of that happened, we actually put our house up for sale. We loved our house, our small town, and our neighbors, but hated the idea that a structure was consuming so much of our time. The only thing we wanted was more time to do the things we enjoy. Turns out, those things are not raking leaves, pulling weeds, replacing a roof or a water heater, buying things to fill empty space, or cleaning 2/3 of our house that we never ever used. Despite loving our first home, we both realized that the lifestyle was really making us unhappy. Tough thing to realize, but glad we realized it early on. 

So, we've been getting back to what makes us happy: Living minimally. Less stuff. More experiences. We sold and donated over half of our stuff. It took us a grand total of 3 hours to unpack all of our stuff once we got to TN! It was awesome. 

Jerrod also built a trailer. Correction... he built a freaking UHAUL! He built it from the ground up. I don't know how he does this stuff... but it's absolutely amazing. Oh, and did I mention it has lighting on the inside?! Of course it does! 

No, we don't live in the trailer :)

We packed up our lives and moved to our first assignment right outside of Nashville, TN. It was a long drive (longer than expected because of a trailer), but we made it! 

Ya know what makes an 873 mile trip a little more fun? Walkie talkies :D

Bye, teal counters!

Our kitchen got a little update! Nothing too drastic, but updated. 

What's kinda funny is we were originally going to granite countertops. Those were quoted at $4,000. Uh, no. Plan B... Laminate & butcher block, plus doing it ourselves. The grand total of the entire kitchen update - new counters, new fridge, new flooring, new sink, paint, and one VERY exhausting weekend -  $1,500. 

The new stainless steel fridge was off of Craigslist (thanks random lady who bought a brand new fridge, made her husband move it in, and then decided she wanted a different new fridge instead. !!!). Worked out for us! :)

Lessons learned:
1. Glad we were able to do it ourselves, but it's worth it to have a professional install counter tops. No house is perfectly square. Ours was built in the early 90's and we only have the one L-shaped counter top... and that still took ALL DAY with that so-called 90 degree angle. If you're installing anything other than laminate or butcher block, absolutely pay a professional. Most places won't let you purchase natural counter tops without an installation.

2. Butcher block is super easy. If it's done throughout the kitchen though, do your research on how to finish it. It's very important, especially if you're installing it where it'll have exposure to moisture (sink). Ours is only around the stove, so a little food-safe mineral oil worked perfectly. We used Howard's Butcher Block Conditioner (Home Depot), which is a food-grade mineral oil/beeswax. It works great. 

Before:

After: 

And some durings. Smashing tile at 7am was almost better than coffee! Almost. 

Bear was shunned from the kitchen for the weekend. He did not approve.

The Lightening Bug

30mph at max speed, downhill, with the wind at your back is not quite fast enough to be named the Lightening Bolt :)

I told Jerrod that I missed my scooter and I wanted another one. I came home from work the next day, put the garage door up, and this little red scooter (with about 5 bows on it) was in my space! It was the BEST surprise and I definitely screamed. The black flames (which were done in nail polish) were kinda awful... But I kiiiiinda loved them at the same time. Jerrod's new awesome paint job definitely wins though. 

Jerrod was wondering why someone would write "MINE" on the side. My thoughts - it's a push button start... No key. So you'd know for sure that it was yours if someone stole it and was riding around town. Hah! Luckily Jerrod fixed it up a little better so that's no longer an issue/concern. 

The guy who owned it before (Bob) gave the moped to his daughter (Maggie), and now it's mine (Emmy). I like it. 

The 48hr bathroom project

We weren't planning on redoing our bathroom this last week. I was going to finish one single shelf in the bathroom - see that one above the toilet? That one. - and that was it. Things escalated quickly... 

The old floor was a stick on tile that was coming up at the corners. It always looked like it was dirty since it was so scratched up. The floor is what started the whole project. 

The new floor is a click and lock bamboo flooring from Home Depot, which I would definitely use again. It was inexpensive, easy to install, durable, and it's so nice. I love it. The mirror was $38 dollars from Homegoods. Everything else was paint/stain, plus a toilet paper holder. Not too bad! 

Before and after: