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!

Last month, in quick review

Hey! It's been nearly a month since I've last updated. With that said, my sweet baby girl Lily Jade will be one month on Thursday! Time is really flying by. I remember feeling crazy miserable the last month of my pregnancy and just wanting to be done with all of it and then the last night in the hospital when I just felt so uncomfortable because I wanted to be in my own bed and now it's already been a month since she was born. I gotta say that she is growing beautifully. Her dr is very pleased with her progress and says she's absolutely perfect, not like I didn't already know that or anything. ;)



Lily's welcome home baby party was a success. Everyone had a really nice time & Lily also got some really cute gifts. I made all of the decorations myself, as you can see in the picture. My niece Taylor and I made all of the food, except for the chicken strips we had catered by PDQ and the pasta & potato salads my mom made. I even reused the garland and the banner in Lily's room after the party. It looks so cute in there!



See, cute right? In other news, Gracie started Kindergarten yesterday. We found out that Gracie's teacher is the same teacher Paul had for Kindergarten. She said she remembered Paul but I mean, that was 20 years ago so I doubt she did, she was probably just being nice. I actually already knew her from when I worked for before & after school care at Gracie's school before she was born. She remembered me too, but that I believe because it wasn't that long ago. haha



I also made Lily's birth announcements and ordered 100 of them from Shutterfly since I got a free coupon from them in the mail. I can't wait to mail them out once they get here. Here is a preview of what it looks like, without me actually posting the real thing. I wanna mail them out before I post it here. I also took Lily's one month pictures, which I used some of in her birth announcement. I'll share those pictures next time I update.



That's it for now. I'll update again soon, I have a cool project I'm going to be working on in the living room pretty soon, well a couple different projects in there and also I'll share all the details for Gracie's room makeover I have planned for November, as a birthday present. Lots of projects coming up!

She's almost here!!

Welp, it's officially at the waiting game point. I'm scheduled to be induced on Monday (7/22) at 7am. Three more days. I can't believe it! I actually just had a little scare about 30 minutes when I went to the bathroom (TMI!!!) and wiped and saw my mucus plug. I kinda freaked because I had been losing a little here and there over the past few weeks but this time, it was A LOT. So, I did what every pregnant woman nowadays does and ran right to google to ask what to do. Directed me to babycenter and yahoo! questions which both said to call my OBGYN and ask about it just to make sure, so I did. My dr said that yes it is my mucus plug and to keep my eye on if contractions get going and they are 3-5 minutes apart, then to get to the hospital. I'm not having any contractions right now, just feel little L moving around in there. I really just hope I can wait till Monday. Paul already made the work schedule for next week and has the week off, starting Monday. So, hopefully she'll stay put for Daddy's sake. Fingers crossed.

In other news, Paul & I decided that with this pregnancy (I don't remember if I mentioned this before) we'd prefer if no one came to the hospital except for my parents, Gracie & his Mom. The only people I'll have in the room with me during labor is my mom & Paul. I wanted it to be a much calmer laid back experience this time. Last time, with Gracie, it was a circus! Everyone I know who could fit in the room was there and it was very overwhelming. I didn't even expect that many people to STAY in the room but by that point I didn't really care either.

So, with that said, we know we still have lots of family and friends who will actually want to meet Baby L once shes born, so we decided we're going to have a Welcome Home Baby Party, about two weeks after L is home. We are expecting around 20 or so people, which is a lot nicer to have in our home at one time, then a continued train of people coming and going at the hospital or a few days after she's born when we get home. Doing it all at once will be much easier for everyone. But mostly for L and I.

Of course, the little interior designer inside of me is screaming to get out and decorate something and with this party, I'll be able to get my fix. Here are a few ideas I snagged from Pinterest for the party.


Pinned from here.
-- I obviously won't be doing EVERYTHING in the image above, but I'm definitely sticking with the Yellow/Pink color theme and also love the streamers & banner. I'm going to also try and do something similar to the bunting on top of the cake, but with cupcakes instead. I have lots of ideas!


Pinned from here.
-- I'm going to do the paper dot garland and poms above the food table too. I'm making all of it myself tho.

I'm just going to do simple food for the party. Finger foods like fruit, veggies, chips & dips, cupcakes, etc. Paul wants to get chicken strips from PDQ and my mom is making potato & macaroni salads. But it's really just going to be a easy little lunch get together to introduce L to everyone. I'm looking forward to it!

I can't believe my next post will be a birth announcement! Time has flown!

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.

Seeing Baby L

Sorry for going MIA there for a minute... or several weeks. I've been busy and haven't been in the mood to update aka edit pictures for a post. But, I'm here now with a new round of updates and a post! Woo! First up, we went to the sonogram, twice actually. The first time we went our little L wasn't very cooperative and wouldn't give us a good enough face shots. Lots of lady parts shots (she's not very modest, apparently.) but not good shots of her face, so the amazing woman who did our sonogram invited us back the following week for a free follow-up appointment to see about better pictures. We went back and L was once again because her little difficult self, snuggled into my placenta, all cozy like a pillow, but after a half hour she decided to let us see her sweet face. She looks JUST LIKE Gracie. Gracie went with us too, btw. She loved it when L would stick her tongue out and wave her hand, she told everyone (once we got home) that L was waving at her and saying hello because she already loves her big sister. Isn't that cute?



There are literally 100's of pictures but a lot of them would have to be explained and I don't want to have to do that, so just enjoy the two simple ones above. haha! As far as her features, she has super chubby cheeks and the same nose and chin as Gracie. They are going to be inseparable, I can already see it now. Best friends for life. :) Gracie is so excited! She also has nice long legs & big feet, just like Daddy. Which, I already knew from all of her wild ninja moves she does in my belly. ;)

Since then we went and got more stuff in prep for her arrival. I now just need a lot of little things here and there, like command strips for hanging her pictures and hooks to hang her mobile and other decor. I'm mostly just in need of things for me now, like a night gown (for my first night there, after birth), slippers, travel sized shampoo and things of that nature. But, by the time she gets here, everything will be (hopefully!!) crossed off my list. Paul tries to buy stuff every week, so we are moving right along.

In two weeks, Gracie graduates from Pre-K! I can't believe it. We got back her pictures with her cap & gown, they turned out so cute. I'll share those once they are scanned. Unfortunately, they put all the girls in red. Of all the colors, one of my least favorites. Blah! They should of just did everyone in blue, or the girls in white. But not red! Oh well.

Kids get out of school in about two weeks! This school year has just flown on by. Before I know it, I'll be in labor and have another little one ready to go to school. Slow down, time! At this point, I'm just trying to soak up these last several weeks of this pregnancy since it will be my final one. Every little (or BIG!) kick and movement, I'm trying my best to hold on to for as long as I can. But, I will say I sure can't wait to really see her face and hold her in my arms. Only 6 weeks till we are full term! Can't believe it. :)

The Never-Ending Baby To-Do List

I thought it would be fun to share all of the things on our to-do list for Baby L. We only have a handful of things crossed off but just recently crossed off a few more things. Shall I share? Here we go...

Nursery
- Crib & Mattress ✓
- Dresser ✓
- Changing Pad & Cover ✓
- Bedding ✓
- Shelves ✓
- Baskets & Bins (for storage) ✓
- Picture Frames ✓
- Print Art (for frames)
- Dresser Organizer ✓
- Hooks (for hanging mobile & poms/lanterns) ✓
- Curtain Rod ✓
- Window Shade ✓
- Books ✓
- Rugs ✓
- Ceiling Light ✓

Baby Necessities
- Clothing ✓
- Socks/Shoes ✓
- Swing ✓
- Stroller/Car Seat ✓
- Receiving Blankets ✓
- Towels/Wash Cloths ✓
- Baby Tub ✓
- Bottles
- Bottle Brush ✓
- Pacifiers ✓
- Brush/Nail Clippers/etc ✓
- Toys ✓

Momma Needs
- Breast Pump
- Nursing Bras
- Boppy Pillow
- Nightgown & Slippers
- Travel sized shampoo, deodorant, etc

List Updated 6/7/13

That's pretty much it. Stuff like a High Chair, Walker and whatnot isn't needed until much later so those things I'm not even thinking about at this point. I feel like this list is never going to be finished! But this week we went and got a bunch of different things like wash cloths, towels, etc & also the stroller & car seat!



Sticking with my yellow & gray theme I chose this Expedition Travel System - by Baby Trend. I love it so much because it's such better quality than the one I had for Gracie. I believe I had a Graco with her. It was too short for Paul to use and didn't seem to last as long as I thought it should. Plus I went with pink, white and light gray which got dirty way too easy. This one is right up my ally and Paul was having a blast pretending to push a baby around the house in it after he put it together. It's tall enough for him to use, finally! The best part is when we're done with it (aka when Baby L grows out of it) he can sell it at his job. He works for a sports store that resells things like this. Score!

Other than that, we go tomorrow for the 3D/4D Ultrasound! Gracie is, I think, more excited than even I am! I don't know how that's even possible but she is. She told me she might not sleep good tonight because she can't wait to see her baby sister. She recently whispered to my belly, "I'm gonna be the best big sister, L. I promise! You're gonna love Mommy & Daddy too." I teared up. Made my heart melt.

Can't stop, won't stop

I feel like I haven't stopped going since my last post. Ok I lied. I didn't do anything today except the basics (yanno, sweep, wipe counters, etc) but other than that I haven't stopped doing things in the Nursery or just around the house in general. For the past year or two I've wanted to paint a little cabinet/shelf I got from my grandmother after she passed away. It sat in my living room and then my hallway holding dvd's for years. It stayed boring and beaten up for as long as I can remember. This past weekend I decided to tackle that project head on. I don't know what got into me but I just felt like painting... and sanding and lots of painting. Here he is before, all sad and whatnot...



So dusty and sad. Poor little guy! First I sanded lightly around all of the edges to get all of the pointy parts off. You have to understand this shelf is pretty old so it has had lots of ware and tare over the years. Even the bottom piece of wood that goes across the bottom in the front had fallen off so I had to get new nails and nail it back in place. After that, I painted, giving time to dry between each coat for about 30 - 45 minutes. Then I'd add another coat. Four coats total. Yeah, FOUR. I used Behr's Paint & Primer in Wildflower Honey, actually the same yellow as I used in Baby L's nursery! I loved it that much! Plus hey, free paint! Here she is all happy and pretty! I also moved around decor to add to her beauty and freshened up my front door area in my Living Room. :)



Since then, Paul, Gracie & I headed to IKEA to buy furniture for Baby L's nursery. We picked up her crib, dresser, picture frames, crib mattress & a drawer organizer. I've now crossed off 6 things of my 31 thing to do list. We have SO MUCH stuff to get still. I feel like I'm falling behind. Anyway, we got the crib built as well as the dresser. We moved the crib into the room and with our luck, it was too wide! Which kind blew my mind because, when we measured the room it was perfect for the dimensions of the crib. I told you, this room is tiny! So, we gotta be EXACT. After huffing and puffing and trying to figure out what the issue was, it hit me that the crib didn't fit because we always measured the room WITHOUT the floor molding in mind. I called my parents in a panic and explained the situation. My dad came over a day or so later and worked his magic and removed parts of the molding so the crib would now fit. Yay, now it fits! So, after we got everything in place, I got to work putting the bedding together (after washing & ironing it, of course) and then started to put away all of the clothes we've gotten so far. It felt good to start getting things done in there.

This past week Gracie made her art for Baby L's nursery. It turned out so cute. The image you see is just a sneak peak. She added a couple more things to it since I took that picture. She is so excited to see her baby sister and to be a big sister! I think she's really going to be great at it. Speaking of seeing Baby L, I scheduled my 3D/4D ultrasound for this coming Thursday. I can't wait to see a good look at her face and see how she's growing. Because I can sure feel her. Her kicks are so violent at times! I swear there is a little ninja in my belly taking me as it's hostage! Paul's eyes got so big one night when he felt her kick because of how strong and hard it was. It was pretty fantastic to see! I also went to my last monthly ob/gyn appointment on Friday. I'm now going to bi-weekly appointments & in my third trimester! Time is really flying by. My doctor said he thinks she might come early, as in anytime around 36-38 weeks. Which of course made me think, 'OH CRAP, I HAVE EVEN LESS TIME TO GET EVERYTHING FOR HER DONE!' so, it's now crunch time. Time is flying & before you know it, Baby L will be here!

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!