getting our new home in order before baby number 2 arrives

Is this how we're starting the vlog? I thought that was pretty good. I just did my double chin. I mean, you're looking great. Look at her, y'all. Guys, I feel like sweatshirts are kind of funny because from the front, it's like, oh, you know, no biggie, but then you go to the side and you're like, oh, she's pregnant. That's how I feel when I'm not pregnant. What are we up to today? There's a lot of different things I want to just take you guys along for today. It's currently Micah's nap time. Here, one second. I'm gonna move this trash can out of the way. Sorry. They're so big. Babe, okay, but honestly, y'all, I'm so bad about drinking enough water and I feel like if I have this with the straw, I drink so much more water than any other way. Yeah. I just noticed. No, I'm glad. I'm glad you drink the water. Also, can we peep someone special? Hey, bubba. Isn't that so sweet? Oh my goodness, and we haven't even welcomed people back to the channel. No, that's why I was like, is this how we're starting? Babe, is that even on us right now? It feels really high. Did you guys know that we have a new camera? Did you guys even know that? Could you tell the quality in the last vlog? Like, let us know. Our editor, Jared, helped us pick out new gear because it was like, that gear was like four or five years old and we're like, hey, let's get new stuff. And I want to show you guys, actually. Sorry, this is fun for me. Look at this thing. Look at all of the fingerprints on here. Like, yeah, look at this. Sorry. You can see all the wonderful fingerprints. Actually, you can't see. Look, this camera is that good, babe. They can't even see it. So, anyways, welcome back. To my channel. So what are we doing? Well, we're going to pretty much speed do as much as we can while Mike is done. I feel like I have not fully nested yet and I'm 31 weeks pregnant now. And I feel like it's about that time. Like, with Micah, the nursery was already done. Like, things were already kind of set in place. And we actually just got a ton of stuff in from Kohl's and it's all organization stuff for the home. And I'm looking at our pantry right now and it's giving me anxiety. Like, I do not like a messy pantry situation. And so I'll show you all the little things that I got, but I'm going to try to, like, pull things out and start organizing the pantry as quickly as possible. And then I also want to pick paint colors for the boys' rooms. Are you going to tell them what you're doing? You're going to show the, is there like a mood board? Yeah, I do have a mood board. I'll show you all a couple little things. I'll like, And you can help us choose the paint colors because there's like, what, six options? There's six options. By the time this is live, We may already have chosen. May already have chosen. Okay, well, you can, you can, I will say that. Yeah, so you can comment and let us know which ones you think we chose. Yeah, I'll give you the vision. I'll tell you, like, what my ideas are, but I will tell you guys, I've just felt like I've been in decision fatigue lately. Like, there's like way too much in my head at all times. And so I had this vision for something like super unique and super cute for both, and I'm dialing it down a little bit, because I just like need to get it done. Yeah, you need to do what you can handle. Yeah, and so anyway, it's going to do that. I'm not going to clean up the playroom. Just do like a quick little clean. Oh, and then I'm going to give you guys an update. Oh. If you follow me over on Instagram, I failed my glucose test, and... Do you want to save that for later? I'll save it for later. Yeah. I'll tell you guys about that. I'm going to show you guys some stuff that we're working on. Okay, so this is, ooh, I need to zoom out. This is our pantry. It actually doesn't, to me, doesn't look that bad, right? Does not look that bad, but yeah, it actually, no. The more I look at it, the worse it gets. And so that's going to get solved. Yeah, this is a lot of the stuff that we got. I haven't even like opened it yet, and some of the stuff is actually for the fridge, which I'm excited about too. But yeah, it just, it needs help. And then I also got all these really cute little baskets. Yep. So I'm going to take all the tags off and... Yes. Start with the baskets. And so we had talked about, you know, do you guys want to see the loft that's a mess or the garage? Well, good news, we got super blessed, and the garage has actually been picked up. So I'll show you guys that. I am so shocked. And I'm actually going to show you a picture of a before, right here. And then this is where we're at now. So there's still boxes. There's still stuff we have to recycle and get out of here. But that's super, super exciting. I can't tell y'all, like the amount of stress that I was feeling from the boxes was, honestly is probably, probably something I need to talk to God about. So things are actually really coming together. We're really starting to feel at home here. Even though Tori had like a boys' play date over here and it was adorable. It was like four boys all hanging out with baby Micah. And like the baby gates are getting ripped off the wall and kids are just like... And so it's like a boys' boys' type of hang. Yeah. But yeah. It's been clean. This is just the best from this morning. Any like wake window that Micah has, once he goes to bed, we do it clean. Yeah. Because... 100%. It's a playroom. It's supposed to get messy. It's what it's for. Amen. Okay. I'm not sure about you, but when I have a space that is organized, I feel like it is a huge win and that I operate so much better. But our pantry was truly just stressing me out every single day. I didn't know where things were. There were crumbs, like just pure chaos. And so when I got on the Kohl's website and I found so many cute, functional, and aesthetic organization systems, baskets, et cetera. You name it. Honestly, their home section is just killer. Like when I got on their website, I had no idea how many home things that they had. I even got a postpartum little cart too. So I'll have to do a full blown nesting video preparing for postpartum and show you guys how I organize that as well. But anyways, I just want to encourage you guys to check out the home section at Kohl's because it is making this little pantry revamp and honestly, other sections in our home as well, just so easy and affordable. And I cannot more highly recommend y'all checking them out. I had to make a little lunch while doing this, but it always looks crazy. Before, it's gonna look better, but it's looking clean in here. I still have to get these things actually like down and unpacked, but I just put all of our little like, you know, kitchen things. What do you even call those things y'all? My pregnancy brain right now. Oh, we have some here. And then I went ahead and just moved over all of our, like we love to buy in bulk toilet paper, paper towels, trash cans, et cetera. So that'll all just stay over here. But it feels good to have like just a clean slate and also, LOL, we have to keep our plates in here because our kitchen cabinets are pretty shallow and so they don't fit. But anyways, let's get to it. Okay. I'm not gonna lie. That took so much longer than I thought it was gonna take. I'm about to unwrap these organizers and don't get me wrong, I love baskets. I love the aesthetic of a basket and I'm excited to use the baskets, but there's something about clear bins when you're organizing like food, pantry, fridge, you can just like really see what's in it that I love. And highly recommend y'all going to the link in our description and checking out all the things that Kohl's has. They were having the best deals on all things home, home organization, et cetera. And I just feel like this kind of stuff can add up so quickly. And I think some of what I got was literally like 50% off or something. And so check out what deals they have going on right now. I think these are for the fridge, like for fruit and stuff, but I might even use them for the pantry still, to be honest, so very excited about this. Very excited to be partnering with Kohl's for this video. Such a blessing. This is definitely for the fridge. These are for the pantry. Anyways, I'm gonna unwrap these things and touch base with y'all in a second when I have a better plan. Okay, so Tori's still working on a better plan, but she's definitely making headway. I should probably be helping her, but I may also just be getting in her way. You know sometimes when you feel like you guys wanna help, then end up getting in the way? She's like, come help me. Can I tell them something real quick? Do you wanna even take a break? Yeah, let's come take a little siesta break because I wanna share with people something that I have learned. I wonder if I can set it up here. Oh wow, look at this. Number one, sorry if you can hear all that construction happening right now, but I know you guys don't mind. I just got back from a men's group where we met up in Austin, Texas, like we do every February, and then we meet up in Colorado in August. In the past, I've always come back with like six things, seven things I wanna change, and then those things never get changed because it's too much at one time. Kind of like unloading the pantry all at once. Anyways, I wanted to learn you all some knowledge real quick and share my big revelation that I had, and hopefully it'll spark something within you depending on where you are in your life stage. So what I would encourage you in is focus less on the specific details of what I'm saying and focus more on the heart posture. Okay, so at this men's group, towards the very end of all the sessions, it was basically like, okay, what's your one big takeaway? And I prayed, and God slapped me with something super fast, and it was detailed, but it was just like, you're revolving your life around work, not around me. And I was like, uh-oh, you know? Because it's hard, because as adults, we need to work. You have to pay for groceries. You have to pay for diapers, you know? Like, work is a necessary thing, and it's also a good thing in a lot of ways. I realized that every time Tori and I would get together to do our weekly team meeting, which we actually took a big break from because we just were falling apart, we were basically plugging in all of our work, and then everything else would get to scraps. And so I'm not sure if you all have seen that analogy where if you have a bunch of sand, a bunch of pebbles, and a few big rocks, and you try to fit them all in the jar, if you put the sand in first, then the pebbles, and then the rocks, the big rocks, they won't fit in. You can't fit everything. But if you put the big rocks in, and then you put in the pebbles, and then you put in the sand, the pebbles and the sand can fall alongside the rocks and still fit in there because your priorities are right. So you could fit everything into the jar because your priorities were on the right track. And then that's where I realized that our priorities have been so wrong. We've been filling our jar up, our life up, with this much sand, and then when we try to devote other type of priorities, it's just, it's hard. We can't fit it in there, and then we're too exhausted and all this stuff. And so we're making some really fun changes to where I don't know how this will shake out, but one of the current things that we're trying right now is Tori wrapping work around 1 p.m. And that doesn't mean she's done with work because she's going to do the hardest job, which is being a mother. So just so you guys are aware of that. But we started just to envision what does our ideal week look like? And we spent time thinking about it. We spent time processing it, and we're still processing it. We're still gonna continue to vote it out. But it was intentional. But the heart of the ideal week is centered around what is our family mission statement, and how are we living that out in the world through what God has given us through talents and through resources? And so for you all, if you're not married, what is God equipping you to do right now for your own vision right now, for your own mission in this season for you right now? Or if you have 10 kids or no kids, what does that look like for you? And it starts with the end in mind. Because we don't want to get to the end of our life and be like, oh my gosh, we worked so hard. Not for his kingdom. Not for the family mission that he has given us. We want to start with the end in mind. So think about the end goal, and then work your way backwards. I know I actually shared that, I think, in the last video. But these things have just been just kind of flying around my head a little bit. And we've been trying to create some good systems regarding even hiring some help, regarding a babysitter from time to time. And we're even seeing what that looks like, even for maternity leave for Tori, what that looks like. Because transparently, she did not take a maternity leave with Micah, because we couldn't afford to take off for work, because we were at the time like paycheck to paycheck, it felt like. It was just, we had made some short-sighted decisions that led to pain. And so I don't know even where I'm going with this advice, but what I'm saying is, is that life can be so fun and so full of joy with the right priorities. But what was happening is, is my family was getting the scraps of my energy, of my mental bandwidth, because I was focusing on a different priority first. And so we had a really deep conversation about how our house is lacking joy. We want to have a house that's full of laughter. And why is that missing? It's because we don't have anything left in the tank at the end of the day, because we're just checking everything off our to-do list. But doesn't it seem like joy should be a priority in our home? And yeah, that's obvious. And so, okay, well, what does that look like to make sure that we're leaving space for God's interruptions, God's good interruptions? Not that God has bad ones, but you know what I mean? They're all good. You get what I'm saying. Do you get what I'm saying? You get what I'm saying? Yeah, so anyways, yeah. Did anything I say make sense? It all made sense. Do you like it? Do you have any notes? Do you have any feedback? Any thoughts, concerns, questions? Do you think I'm handsome? Why don't you give me a kiss? Ew, sorry. Anyways. Mike is probably awake. Oh my gosh, we gotta look at the monitor. Oh my goodness, oh my goodness. Nope, okay, he's still asleep. Oh my gosh, babe, you just scared me. I was just saying, he was moving a second ago, so I was like listening, but in the back of my head, I'm also like. I was not thinking, oh my goodness. I didn't think about taking the monitor. So, do you wanna tell me what to do with all this? Wanna put me to work? I do, but I have to pee first. The baby's on my bladder. So we'll come along. I'm kidding, okay, bye. Okay, if I'm putting you to work, I think the biggest thing I need is to look at the current mess and make sections. You know what I mean? Like all of this is bone broth, so this will go all together, or like little snacks, or fruit, or tea, or bread, et cetera. And then I can put them into, oh no. I'm gonna do it so you can see it. I may also just be getting in her way. See how like when you see it, you can see it like that. You know sometimes when you feel like you guys wanna help and end up getting in the way. Okay, so we're gonna, I'm gonna help you though. Okay. I'm gonna put the camera out. Where are you gonna put it? I don't know. What, you ever seen that meme? The girl with the glasses? Okay, so, okay, so I'll give y'all the update on the whole glucose testing, which I made some very funny decisions now that I'm like looking back. So I failed the just normal, it's supposed to be random, which it definitely was random. But the night before my test, I was craving strawberries and Nutella, and I had that with chocolate milk. And then the next morning, I had Chick-fil-A. And then I was eating these plantain chips on the way to the appointment. So, I just don't think that was the best preparation for the test, but now we're filming this on, is it Thursday? Today is the Thursday. Today's Thursday that we're filming this. My test is on Monday, the three hour to four hour fasted situation. Something you should know about me is I actually get pretty sick in the morning if I don't eat like right away. So I am very much not looking forward to it. And I'm pretty sure it's a requirement of the birth center that I pass this test. And so there's a little bit of like stress regarding it because I'm so like late in the game. If I were to not pass it, I would have to like change my entire birth plan and all the things. And so that just is not ideal, but I'm reminding myself that God is in control. This is where we're supposed to birth this baby, then everything will just be smooth and good. The other thing that's been a little weird is I have pregnancy anemia. And so I just started taking some beef liver supplements. I'm trying to eat more foods that are like rich in iron, but it has been happening where I'm having these weird, like I feel like I'm gonna pass out and faint. It's about, I don't know what you'd even call it, where just like your vision goes blurry and you feel like you're gonna pass out. That's how I feel when I see you. Anyway, so love your prayers, any advice, et cetera. I know this will go live after my test. And so I'll let y'all know over on Instagram if I pass it. I was even thinking about just vlogging the experience if that's, well, again, it'll have already happened once this video gets posted, but I might vlog the experience. We'll see, because I'm just a little nervous, you guys. I'm a little nervous. But anyways, Micah's still sleeping. Praise the Lord. We're gonna try and knock this out real quick. But that was my update that I wanted to give y'all. And okay, so we're almost done. Okay, here we go, here we go, here we go, here we go. Introducing, in a world where things are cluttered, one woman working with Kohl's to declutter our lives. Introducing Dory Masters. Sorry, that's so annoying. Oh, let me zoom out. Wow. This is so much better. Like, I feel like we had no space and now we actually have so much extra space. I can't even see it all because it's so organized. Isn't that crazy? It's gorgeous. I love it. Look at these little guys. And the pantry's nice too. I have to give Chad a call out for his cough drops. They got their own little drawer. Which, how fun are those that they pull out like that? This is just fun in general. You're fun. Micah's still asleep. It's been literally two and a half hours. Are you excited? Yes, I'm really. I think I was getting stressed out because he started moving. And we were nowhere near done. And I was like, oh no. But now this feels so good. So clean. I'm about to make a little iced coffee. I thought you were gonna say you were about to kiss me. All right, so what's next? Are we gonna talk about nursery stuff? I'm gonna show them the nursery once Micah wakes up. Okay, cool. All right, well we'll see you in three, two. Okay, so it's later on in the afternoon. We haven't showed you guys the cool stuff yet. Tori's doing some dishes. And Micah is helping out. Mister, what are you doing in there? What are you doing? And I'm just trying to make a couple quick steaks. And he's helping out. What do you think, Mom? Thanks, buddy. Yeah, thank you. Thank you, and the best part is, is that there's like more in here. Okay, Bubba. Okay, by the way, just in case you guys are wondering, Cottonelle, the best, for the best. Anyways, we're gonna show you guys the nursery stuff here in a moment. I'm just gonna get the steak going. Actually, have you guys ever seen the trick at how to know that a cast iron skillet's ready? Why don't I show ya? Okay, so you can see my hand. So you can see if I pour some water in here, you see how the water is kind of burning a little bit? Like it's evaporating. You're like, okay, what's happening here? So that means that it's not ready yet. No ready. By the way, I think I said cast iron earlier. This is stainless steel. A lot of people are afraid to cook on stainless steel, but let me learn you something. Okay, so we're back after maybe like 30 seconds, and I'm gonna pour some more water in there and watch what happens. Oh, would you look at that? That's called science, ladies and gentlemen. I'm even gonna turn the heat down. See how the water is now, like the stainless steel's like bonded, and it's tight and creating like a nonstick surface. And so now, this water can sit in there and it'll just slowly evaporate. Yeah, science. Look at that, y'all. How crazy. Oh, I'm gonna get you. Oh. Okay, you guys, it's time for the paint, but also we're in the loft, and I feel like maybe we should give you the loft reveal that y'all have been asking for. It's actually not as bad as what it once was. It's gotten a lot better. That's true, yeah. It's like an, it's an organized, it's an organized, it's an organized mess. Okay, here we go, loft. Okay, this is stuff from the baby sprinkle. Cranes, decor, just, y'all, it's just a lot. But honestly, we are, I'm gonna make another Kohl's order because they have so many great storage options on their site. And now that I can see everything that we have, I feel like I know what to order. So if you're like in organization mode, with new home, et cetera, I feel like that stuff can get so expensive so fast, and they have the best deals. I was even thinking about this sweater. It's from Kohl's, too. Yeah, I love it. So we've like recently just become obsessed, and we will leave that link below, but I do wanna show y'all the paint colors. Okay, paint colors. I also just wanna point out my incredible receipt collection that we have over here. Y'all, these are just containers of receipts, just in case we ever get audited. Hey, Micah, wanna come over here? Let's go. He wants to vacuum. Come here, bud. Okay. Okay, so let me give the preface. Preface. Micah's room is gonna be like a dusty blue, and baby two's room is gonna be like a sagey green. I want them to coordinate, but not like perfectly match. Mm. Coordinate. And then they have a Jack and Jill bathroom, and I'm thinking about finding a wallpaper that incorporates both colors, and so it kind of like ties it all in. He wants me to turn it off. There you go, bubba. Now you can go vacuum. You can go do the chores, yep. Yeah, go vacuum. We got him cleaning the baseboards. He's gotta pay rent around here. Okay, so this is what I got currently, and I'm not gonna lie, I think I already have my favorites. I will say one is reading a little gray, one's a little dark. Gray, dark, yes. Feels like a blue. A little dark, yes. A little throw-up-y. Yeah, the color just isn't quite it, and so I feel like we haven't even painted the actual samples on the wall yet, which I hear you really should do before you paint an entire room this color, because I'm like talking, I wanna paint baseboards, potentially even the ceiling. Oh, wow. Literally the whole room. Oh my goodness. I'm gonna show them one other thing, and the other nursery. This, of course, this'll be a whole reveal, and we'll do a house tour once everything's done. This is Micah's nursery, so if you can go ahead and see, that this is gonna be a lot of stuff done here. Then through the Jack and Jill bathroom, Micah's giving us a tour. This is baby number two's room, and I gotta build the crib, gotta build the dresser, gotta build the recliner, and this is a secret weapon that we didn't know that we have. Y'all look at this. This is why you need to get good storage options. This is awesome. This closet is bigger than our closet in our bedroom, which actually makes me a little upset now that I say it out loud. I mean, we're taking up three-fourths of it. Yeah, absolutely. We put all of our spring stuff in this closet because all of our coats and everything for winter, which we actually use here, took up so much room in our closet downstairs, and so we're literally just gonna do a little switcheroo and everything that does not currently fit this baby bump, which is poppin', is also up here, so. Bubba, you miss these old toys? These are little brother's toys now. He said, I'm still gonna play with those. Yay! But okay, I think that's it for this vlog, honestly. Yeah, that's it. If you guys are looking for amazing house refreshment stuff that's stress-free, go to Kohl's. There's a link in the description. We're gonna keep just making this house a home as we prepare for baby number two, whose name is...