It's November, y'all!

I'm so pumped for November, if only for the cooler weather! My big girl turns 6 next week, I can hardly believe it. But, before we enjoy the month of November, let's recap the month of October, shall we?

Lily started to giggle in October. She talks more & smiles all the time.


I found out my name is on the 10th Anniversary Fantasy box. If you know me, you know I'm a HUGE Britney fan. This made my month!


I made these yummy omelets for Sunday brunch. Recipe here.


Lily went for her 3 month checkup. DR said she's a month ahead on everything! She is already trying to crawl!


My girls continue to grow closer and closer. Gracie loves being Lily's big sister. <3


Paul got free front row endzone seats from Davin Joseph of the Tampa Bay Bucs for building an entire gym for a local high school. It's the second year in a row Paul has done this. :)


We had such a great time at the game together. It was a well needed grownups night!


We go on nightly walks now, thanks to the cool fall weather.


I took Lily's 3 month photos in her Mouse costume. The cutest little mouse you've ever seen!


Lily went to the park for the first time and liked the swing!


She also went on the slide with her big sissy. The girls had a great time at the park together. :)


Lily enjoyed her first Halloween! Even tho she slept thru the entire thing. haha


I also enjoyed playing dress up! Meow!


I made Jack O Lantern burgers for Halloween dinner. Kids & Hubs loved them!


And last but not least, my spooky little family. Paul as SNL's Drunk Uncle, Jordan is a Zombie Banana & Gracie is a Lalaloopsy.


October was a fun month! Looking forward to November. Family, friends, yard sales, Thanksgiving, Birthday party, Fall weather, etc, etc. Lot's of good stuff to look forward to. Hope you all had a nice October & a fun Halloween!

Nursery Reveal

I know, I know, I've been MIA for nearly a month! First off, Baby L is STILL in my belly. She hasn't made her grand entrance into the world or anything. What happened was Gracie decided she should "clean" mine & Paul's laptops and wound up killing them. She completely burned out the power button on Paul's to where his wouldn't even turn on anymore. On mine she killed my keyboard. I could turn it on but not access anything because I had a password login for mine. So, I was screwed. I took it to a local PC repair guy who my family has used in the past and he got all of my personal files off the hard drive for me (thankfully, that was a-ok!) & put it into my now new laptop. It isn't brand spanking new but it's nearly exactly like my other one and does everything I need to do so I'm happy! Then in the mist of all that, our AC in our house broke and we were without AC for two weeks. This happened right before we left for our Babymoon. The inside of the house got up to 87 degrees nearly everyday, it was awful! Then I ordered an iPhone 4s off eBay and was told it was ready to go and when I got it, it wasn't. It was still locked for my phone provider, so we had to shell out more money to get it unlocked and THAT took another 2 weeks. So, I didn't have AC or a laptop or a phone for parts of June. June was the worst, can I just say that?! Ugh. Anyway, the nursery is DONZO! I'm so excited to share every inch and every detail! Here we go...

Before we start, you can see before photos here and the original plans for this room here.

This is the view as you enter.




As you enter and turn left, you'll find the crib on the stripe wall. I bought the yellow lanterns at a party store back when we had the Gender party and KNEW I'd reuse them for the nursery. I made the pompoms myself and found the art on google.




I'm so in love with how all of it turned out looking after it was all put together. I love that elephant head!


To the left of the crib. I made the alphabet art myself.


To the right of the crib. The top picture is L's first ultrasound images & the art under I made myself, it says her name (revealed! gasp!) and under that I put "Pretty little flower... From the name of the flower, a symbol of purity. She is like the beginning of all things - wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities." Then her letter L in bubblegum pink, it actually matches the color of the heart in the alphabet art.


Her crib & bedding.


Her dresser. Top drawer. All organized. Blankets, socks, wipes, pacifiers, lotions, soaps, towels, etcetc.


Middle drawer. Clothes that will fit now and cases of wipes.


Bottom drawer. All diapers. There are actually a lot of clothes that she will grow into underneath all of that. We really made out like bandits at our gender reveal party. I don't think we'll need diapers or wipes for a very very very long time. Under the crib is FULL of diapers in all sizes. We are set!


To the right of her dresser. The rocking elephant Paul found at goodwill LONG before I even started on the nursery. Such a great find! I think we paid 5 bucks? And her diaper holder, full of diapers.


On the opposite side of the room facing the crib is the wall we (my dad & I) built for the washer/dryer. The art above it was made by Gracie, Paul & Jordan.


To the left of that is the window back in the little nook, where I put a trio of laundry baskets. It all fits perfectly!


L's diaper bag that my parents got me. I love it so much! Vera Bradley. It's perfection!


Inside. All ready to go to the hospital. Blankets, take home outfit, beanies and extra onesies, as well as other random goodies tucked away.


That's it! Feel free to ask questions and leave comments! I'm so happy with how everything turned out, it's so beautiful and a perfect little nursery for our new baby girl.

Birthday girl!

Hi All. Sorry I've once again gone MIA from blogging. A lot has been going on around here lately, everything from me being sick with a stomach bug to Paul getting the same stomach bug (at the same time, actually), to my parents also getting this same bug, my birthday was last week, we started renovations on Baby L's new nursery to I don't even know what. We've just been a bunch of busy Bee's around here as of late.

I thought I'd first share my birthday in Instagram pictures. I turned 28 on April 2nd. Paul planned a great day for just the two of us. Gracie spent the day with my parents and Jordan stayed with his Granny so I could have a nice quiet day with my amazing husband.

On the evening before my birthday, better known as April Fool's day Paul surprised me with the most beautiful bouquet of flowers, all yellows & whites. The colors of Baby L's nursery. There was also something special about the flowers but it's a secret until she's born. ;) First thing Tuesday morning, on my birthday I had a monthly OBGYN appointment. Everything is going perfectly & I've only gained 4 pounds my entire pregnancy! My doctor is very pleased. :)

After Gracie got out of school, we dropped her off at my parents house & headed to Tampa for lunch at my favorite restaurant, Grillsmith. I order a Grilled chicken sandwich (A tender grilled chicken breast finished with Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and honey mustard sauce on a brioche bun // taken from their menu) with a side of fries. It was amazing! I mean, look at that picture! Makes me want one right now! After lunch we headed to the mall to see The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, which was funny but could of been a lot funnier. I adore Steve Carell and Jim Carrey so anything they do is worth it to me no matter what. After the movie, Paul took me to buy more shirts from Old Navy. I'm currently obsessed with these. I have every color now! Mine are all neon colored, for some reason I guess they are sold out online. They have been great while my belly has been growing. They fit perfectly!



After shopping, Paul took me to play some Putt-Putt golf. It's kinda become our thing. We take it waay too seriously sometimes, since he's such a sports guy, whenever he loses he feels he needs to play again to redeem himself. We tend to laugh probably too much while we play. Because we always have so much fun! If we go out of town we always have to find a new putt-putt course to play. I told you, it's our thing! BTW, I lost by two. But don't worry, I'll win the next one! ;) When we finished our game we weren't yet ready for dinner so we headed to the beach to walk on the boardwalk and check out the shops. Paul wound up buying me three new pieces of jewelery, adding to my elephant obsession. I got a bracelet, necklace and anklet. All elephants! I should of probably taken a picture but by then my phone's battery was dying. I'll share pictures next time! We ate dinner at TGI Friday's. I had been craving the Jack Daniels Shrimp for weeks. Paul knows the way to my heart!



Anyway, my birthday was pretty fantastic. I owe all of it to Paul who made sure I had a great day. I don't know what I'd do without that man, he truly goes above and beyond for me no matter what. I love him so much!

In other exciting news, I mentioned at the beginning of this post that we started renovations on the nursery. We did! We are actually almost done with the major parts and I'll get to start painting this weekend! Talk about *squeel*! I also decided against ordering custom made bedding online, ultimately the time frame it takes is way too long. The seller told me it would take around 12 weeks to be made and shipped. I wouldn't even be able to pay till tomorrow and I don't have 12 weeks to wait. So, I googled and googled until I found this set...



The best part, I get almost everything in that picture, 9 pieces for half the price it would of cost me to have it custom and even though I really, really wanted it all custom, what is the point in that? I spend $300 bucks and she uses it for a year or two and then I put it on a shelf? Naaaah. I can think of much cooler ways to spend money. This set is only $189... for NINE pieces! Before with the custom, I'd only be getting 3, a sheet, bumper & crib skirt. So this way I'm really making out much better. I am tho still getting a custom made changing pad cover and a few other things from etsy. I also decided I'd attempt to make my own mobile. I'll of course share how that goes. lol.

SO! My next post will be with before & after (or progress) pictures of Baby L's room. Stay tuned!

It's almost time!

So, I've been a tad MIA lately because the stomach bug swept through my house like a tornado and took everyone out with it. First Gracie had it, then she gave it to me, then I gave it to Paul & then Jordan got it. Thankfully it only lasts between 1-3 days so we were all back on our feet by the weekend.

Today my mom and I went to my monthly doctor visit to check on baby. Have I mentioned that ever since I entered the 2nd trimester I've felt fantastic? As a long time nail biter, I finally have nails! My own REAL nails!! Since I got pregnant the thought of biting my nails has disgusted me. Never in my life has this happened. My hair is healthier, I just feel great! I haven't even been taking prenatal vitamins because they make me sick. So all these changes are all natural! Which brings me to think I'm having a boy. I never was like this when I was pregnant with Gracie. My mood is great too! Even tho the 1st trimester was hell (something else I didn't experience with Gracie) now I feel great! I'm telling you, my instincts are telling me I'm having a boy. Now whether I am or not, I'll be a happy momma anyway because I've waited SO LONG for this to happen that I don't mind either way, but deep down, I feel it's a boy.

Anyway, I'll be 16 weeks on Monday. I went to the doctor today and babies heart rate was 150. We talked about my Gender Reveal Party and told him I gotta make my appointment for my second sonogram and he agreed and let me do it when I wanted, which will be the last week of this month. I'm shooting for the 27th since it's a Wednesday and Paul has that day off. I gotta tell ya, I'm so excited! I can't wait till my mom finishes the invites that she's custom making by hand, so I can post it here! We start renovations on baby B's room in the next couple weeks! YAY!

October is here!

Holy smokes, it's almost the middle of October and I haven't updated! What is my problem? Lack of motivation I suppose. But hey, I'm here now! ;) With October comes all of my favorite things, cooler weather (not nearly as cool as I'd like, but I digress), Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Halloween & pumpkin patches! Gracie actually went on her first field trip this past week to a pumpkin patch with her class. She had such a great time, got to pick her very own pumpkin and also got a bag of goodies to go with it (coloring book, orange lollypop & pumpkin seeds)!

We also have been checking random stores (Target, Walmart, etc) for Halloween costumes. Their selection was so awful. We used to just go to a local Halloween store but after it closed last year, where it had been for years, another store popped up in it's place, so it couldn't be there this year. Finally, after asking my cousin on facebook about it, she told us about one that was by her job. So, after the kids got out of school last Tuesday, we went and checked it out & the kids picked out what they wanted to be. Personally, I wanted the kids to be something that went together. Yanno, a doctor and a nurse, a cop and a prisoner, etc etc. But, Jordan wanted to be something scary, as most boys his age do and Gracie wanted to be something cute and cuddly, as most little girls do. This is what they decided on...



Gracie originally chose a really adorable cat costume but they didn't have her size, and were sold out of the cute leggings that went with it. She was really disappointed, until she found the bunny. She tried it on when she got home and man, it's so cute!

Jordan wanted something with a mask, but I knew after 10 minutes of walking around he'd just end up taking it off for being too hot, so I steered him to the zombie costumes and he chose that one. Instead of the crappy mask that came with it, I'm going to do zombie makeup on him. We even got really cool fake wounds to put on his face & neck. He's gonna look so cool when I'm done... or so I hope! haha

Other than that, I thought I'd share my week in Instagram ;)...



Have a great weekend! :)

Gonna get Dir-tay!

Phew, it's been awhile since I've updated hasn't it? Sorry about that! Life has been busy. Tracking back to my last post, Paul & I drove to Orlando last Thursday to pick Gracie up from my parents who took her to Disney for a few days. She of course had a blast! Since then we decided we're going to have a Birthday Getaway for her in November at Disney. Breakfast with the Princesses, going to the Princess Salon, getting to pick out a Princess dress in the boutique, the day at Magic Kingdom. Should be lots of fun for all of us! They are even currently building a new wing in Magic Kingdom that will feature Belle's Castle from Beauty & The Beast called Fantasyland and will be done by her birthday, so we're excited to see that too!

Other than that we have been doing things around the house here and there to make it better all the time. This week I finally got off my booty & painted the Ikea shelves in the Dining area that were cut to size to fit my wall, so they had some wood showing on the ends. You can see that here...



Luckly, I've had black paint laying around for over a year so it didn't cost me anything to paint it. Win!



And all painted!



Looks good right? Can't even tell I painted them!!

I also got an amazing surprise gift from my parents this week. Of course it's elephant related!



It's a bamboo plant in a elephant planter! Seriously, how amazing is that? Made my day.

Yesterday we got busy in the front garden & cleaned out all of the weeds, overgrown grass, leaves, bugs (yuck!) & dead plants. It only took us about 3 or so hours to get it more than half way finished. I'm pretty proud of the work we got done. Sunday we're going to finish up out there. I still need to move 2 trees. Yeah. I'm THAT hardcore. ;)

Here are a few before shots...

Can you even see anything? So overgrown!





See that tall tree? That's being moved to the right, in front of that fence. The palm tree next to it will be moved closer to the big tree in the garden. You'll see! I'll share pictures when we get that tackled.



See the wood fence to the right? That's where the tall tree is going.



This is the view from the other side, looking toward the driveway side.



And of course as soon as I started removing the bricks, Max had to jump into the holes and lay down. Silly kitty!





And some afters or progress pictures...





Check out my fellow landscapers! ;)



So the to-do list includes, moving two trees, adding some color to the garden, mulch & maybe some decorative goodies as well. All in due time! Jordan spotted that the new layout of the garden is actually shaped like a B. I was pretty impressed that he noticed that because I didn't! But I was happy when he pointed it out, being that we are the house of B's! ;)

Also, in the next year or so I have plans on changing the front of the house from the screened in porch to something a little like this...



Amazing, right? I figure not only would it be beautiful but it would just be something else to add charm to the house for when we move in the future, being that this house is only our first home, not our permanent place.

I also dream of adding a front porch swing. Perfect for those warm summer nights!

Other than all that I'm also currently in the process of building a business website for someone, preparing for our Vacay to Miami in three weeks & continuing to work on this house, being a mom & just rocking the shit outta life! :P Have you been sprucing up your yards for the Spring & upcoming Summer? It's definitely a lot of work but it's such a great payoff when it's finished!