Reunion!

While I'm still missing this...

... and even though I'm still missing my mom, this reunion was pretty sweet.

I've had a shadow since I've gotten home and I couldn't be happier about it! I love my little guys!

Recap of Our Holiday Away!

We just got back from Arizona and what a great time it was! My mom's dear friends surprised us with a baby shower when we got into town, we did some "touristy" things, we celebrated Thanksgiving and shopped for some black Friday deals. Most importantly, we spent time with our family and loved ones and just relaxed in the sun.

J and Twin took their parents to the top of Superstition Mountain one afternoon while I napped.

And they stopped by Tortilla Flats at the top for some prickly pear ice cream/gelato and some picture time.

 

 Twin and the parents decided to take a day trip to the Grand Canyon!!!

Jude-bug had a birthday on Thanksgiving!!! Here she is trying to blow out her trick candles. We really should've been nicer to her on her birthday!

 And with the Vera Bradley apron and recipe box we got her! She is stylin'!!

Twin being twin while the dad's play on their toys... aka IPod Touches.

When I visited at Christmas a few years ago, the Mormon Temple in Mesa had an awesome light display so I made sure to take everyone there on Thanksgiving night! It was gorgeous walking through the displays. They do a fabulous job!

Bump alert!

J with his dear, dear friend! We just love this old guy!!

With some more dear friends!

The whole holiday crew!

All in all I think everyone had a great time! I know J and I are already excited to go back and take our little one!!!

Happy Homemade Holiday!

Now that Thanksgiving is past and the craziness of Black Friday is over, many are settling into their holiday routine!

For those of you still looking for the perfect homemade gift, perfect item for your holiday party, etc, here are so places for some inspiration. I have really enjoyed scouring these pages and making mental notes for next year (as I'm basically done with gifts/party planning for the season)!

A Homemade Holiday at ShopRuche has some great ideas from wrapping to recipes to decor to gifts.

The Holiday Guide by Emily Henderson has ideas from tons of awesome sources.

Check them out, you won't be sorry!

Black Friday

Anything on your shopping list for today? To be honest, we have one very important item to snag for someone else to give to someone else. We like being little elves for people! :)

And because no commercials compare to these from last year, I have to post some of those.








Happy shopping!

29 Weeks -- Happy Thanksgiving!

We have ran headfirst into the third trimester, welcoming heartburn, indigestion, swollen feet, strong kicks and jabs and fatigue! Here I am with my dear friend!

How far along? 29 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 7 lbs
Maternity clothes? Yep. I've even started shopping around for nursing bras now!
Sleep: Sleep is fabulous.
Best moment this week: Being with my parents and inlaws and husband and dear, dear friends!
Miss Anything? Sleeping on my belly! Iced Tea! My pups!
Movement: Yes! My mom loves feeling and seeing him move! He is getting so strong that some of his kicks are uncomfortable.
Food cravings: Eggs and hummus.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.
Have you started to show yet: Yes.
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In, but pretty flat!!
Wedding rings on or off? On, but getting tighter!!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, relaxed and excited!
Looking forward to: Black Friday Shopping tomorrow!

Advent Calendar of Activities -- DIY Idea

I love counting down to Christmas. My whole life I've had an advent calendar of some sort. Traditionally we just had a calendar that we moved daily to signify it getting closer. Some years we got a gift to open each day of the advent. Last year, I DIY'ed a PB inspired advent calendar that we displayed and I filled with candy and treats and small treasures.

This year, I wanted something a little different. Since we've been married, we've tried to do one holiday-inspired thing each day in December but good intentions don't always work out. So, this year we decided to create an advent calendar of activities.

First we decided on 25 of our favorite holiday traditions and I typed them up. Then we printed and cut them out.

Then we folded them up one by one!

And, finally, we place it in its new home.. the santa cookie jar. Now we can pick one each day and complete that activity. I'm really looking forward to it!

What is your favorite thing to do during the holidays?

We Whisk You a Berry KISSMas! -- DIY Idea

Need an easy DIY for some people in your life?

I love to give, I get it from my Momma, but I like to find unique ideas that I can put together inexpensively and that the recipient will actually enjoy and use. Sometimes giving cookies and fudge gets tired (even though I will be giving some of that, too), so I like to find other ideas.

Anyway, I found this great idea on Pinterest from Peppermint Plum. I thought it would be a great idea for some cute, easy and inexpensive gifts for some friends of mine. Full instructions are available here as well as the free printable!

Gather up all of your supplies and ask your spouse to help you balance the cellophance while you fill the whisks. Tie it up and voila!

Super cute, super easy and now they have something in their cabinets that they can just throw in the oven when time is short this holiday season!

Put a SMILE on your face!

Ever need a pick me up on a Monday morning? Trust me, this is sure to brighten your day!



Have a great one!!

Wordless Weekend

Car, Shelves and Art?

I wish I had something new and exciting to tell you, or well, to show you, but I really don't. We've been busy getting things all ready for Thanksgiving, so projects have been given the back-burner.

I will say that with the purchase of our new car, we are saying goodbye to one that is dearly loved and has served us well over the past decade. This car could drive from Butler to IU and Butler to ISU on auto-pilot. It knew Indiana like it had an internal Indiana GPS built-in. This car has indeed served us well, but it is time for this car to bless another family!

J got the fun task of working in the cold to clean it out and get it set-up for its new home. I came out to snap the picture and that was about it!

Inside, I have started working on decorating the nursery, bit by tiny bit. Here are some small shelves J just hung up for me.

I can't wait until the artwork arrives from Argentina!!! Eek!! I never thought I would be so excited for artwork!


Have an awesome Friday and a safe weekend!

28 Weeks -- Welcome to the 3rd Trimester!

We're getting a lot accomplished as far as Baby goes. We've decided upon a pediatrician, scheduled our 4D ultrasound, ordered the mobile, scheduled our car seat installation and we're working on day care and a maternity/newborn photographer. I found out the best time to get maternity pictures and the best time to get the 4D ultrasound done, 32-36 weeks and 26-34 weeks respectively, if you are curious.

How far along? 28 Weeks -- We're in the third and final trimester!
Total weight gain/loss: 5+ lbs -- proof is in the pudding today!
Maternity clothes? Yep.
Sleep: Sleeping great and sleeping a lot, again!
Best moment this week: Sitting in our rocking chair just watching my belly move all over from his little kicks and jabs! I could stare at my belly for hours.. it's my new favorite pastime!
Miss Anything? Sleeping on my belly! Iced Tea! My mom!
Movement: Yes! And, lots of it! I love the constant reminders that he's getting stronger and bigger!
Food cravings: Salad, Egg muffins and Fruit Loops.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.
Have you started to show yet: Yes.
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In, but pretty flat!!
Wedding rings on or off? On, but getting tighter!!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and excited!
Looking forward to: Arizona, Thanksgiving, Black Friday!

And then there were diapers!!

We are cloth diapering our little one and we've purchased the bulk of the diapers that we'll need. When we get our car seat installed next week, we'll buy the few we need for when he's a newborn and then we should have all the diapers we need! Woohoo!

We bought neutral colors so that we can re-use them for future babies (they will easily last for 2-3 kiddos) but I did splurge on some pretty blue diapers, too! 

And now they're tucked safely in his drawer, awaiting his arrival!

I can't believe he'll be here before we know it!!

Our New Ride!

Blood work this morning coupled with the fact that I forgot to "schedule" this post means that you're getting it later than normal! Sorry to those of you who can't officially start your day without a bit of my lemonade!

We bought a new (to us) car! We are so excited. This car can accommodate my ENTIRE family and our things. Carseat, dog crates (3 dogs), two adults and our things! I feel so empowered. I'm glad we decided to make the investment.

Isn't it great? It even has heated seats. I think we're going to get an automatic start put in it so that in the winter we can get it pre-heated.

We now have 6 cars that belong to our household and 7 currently in our possession. Crazy! Good thing we driving one to Arizona and dropping one off in Indiana! Then we'll be back down to 5...yes, for 3 people! :)

Another Work-in-Progress

Just when you think you're getting ahead, something happens that sets you back... isn't that how it is for you, too? We were so happy to be knocking things off our "Project List" left and right when our bathroom sprang a leak. J spent all Saturday working on it only to have it continue leaking... so a plumber it is.

This week we have a visit from the plumber and the roofer and a visit to the vet, license branch, doctor and blood-draw clinic. Not including my obligations for church and J's bowling. And all right before vacation, too. This should shape up to be an interesting week.

I wish I could say this was a fabulous weekend, but with the bummer of bathroom news, J and I decided to run LOTS of errands Saturday night which resulted in me having a MISERABLE Sunday (hip pain, round ligament pain, etc). Not complaining, just wish I hadn't overdone it.

Anyway, I wanted to share the one project that we did get started this week. The letters for the nursery. J sprayed them over and over. They're almost done!

They're actually a metallic charcoal gray which complements the white and green just perfect!! I can't wait to get them up on the wall.

Wordless Weekend

Just Chalk it Up!

Happy 11/11/11... be sure to make a wish at 11:11 am and 11:11 pm! 

Have you ever started a project but for whatever reason it just dragged ON and ON? Well, this project was "that project" for J and I. We bought an ugly, brass picture frame for $2 at a thrift store in APRIL, yes, APRIL. I wish I had a true before picture... it was hideous!!

Over Memorial Day, J primed it all with a coat of Zinzer 123 primer and gave it it's first and second coat of chalkboard paint. Here it is drying out in the garage over Memorial Day weekend.

Mid-June, we decided to re-visit the project and J painted the frame bright white. It took two coats and it was really damp that weekend so it came inside to dry.

After being inside my house "drying" for almost a month, we took it back to the garage to do some touch up on both the chalkboard and the frame.

 

At this point the frame was essentially complete, but the question of where to hang it started to come up. I thought about the new guest bedroom downstairs but I wanted more people to see it, so that was a no. Then, since we'd just found out we were pregnant, I thought it would perfect for above the changing table if we had a girl (since it has a feminine quality about it), but we're having a boy. So, back to the drawing board. After many, many nights of J tripping over it in the hallway, the nursery, the guest room, etc, I decided to shuffle some things around and get it hung up!

I chose the wall as soon as you walk in from the garage in our kitchen. The big clock that used to be there got moved across the room. Here is the board primed with chalk. According to the spray can, you have to put chalk all over it, let it set and then wipe it down before you can use it.

Here it is now ready for use in our kitchen!

J is happy it's off the floor, I'm happy because it is done and it has a home and we're most happy that it only cost us $6 (including the frame, paint and chalk). So, this project took us $6 and 7 months to complete, but at least it's finished now!

27 Weeks -- Questions Abound!!

Questions for you out there reading this... when do I need to schedule maternity pictures? What baby must-have item am I forgetting?  Are metal detectors safe for pregnant women? When you get your car seat inspected do they give you a certificate or something to show the hospital? Any tips or questions to ask potential care providers for our baby? To doula or not to doula?

As you can see, we're surrounded with lots of questions right now. We've been trying to tackle a few items each week and we're going strong but there are still a lot left to be answered. It's a this point that I am SO GLAD we started planning/buying/budgeting as early as we did.

How far along? 27 Weeks (almost to the 3rd trimester)
Total weight gain/loss: 5 lbs
Maternity clothes? Yep.
Sleep: Still sleeping great thanks to my pregnancy pillow...my husband refers to it now as the best $50 we have EVER spent. I will say it has bought me many hours of much-needed sleep!
Best moment this week: Getting two impromptu days to work from home due to a problem with the air quality/ventilation/soot blowing everywhere. Regardless, I loved being at home and working from my couch with the boys next to me and Netflix on. Oh, and having some quality time with J this week. It was nice to be together with nothing to do.
Miss Anything? Sleeping on my belly! Iced Tea! My mom!
Movement: Yes!
Food cravings: Egg muffins, Spaghetti O's (welcome back) and cereal.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.
Have you started to show yet: Yes.
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In, but getting shallow!!
Wedding rings on or off? On, but getting snug!!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, happy, happy!
Looking forward to: Arizona!!!! It is approaching so quickly! Time is flying!

And, holy snow storm today... this is my backyard!!

So not ready for old man winter!