Saturday Randoms

Hey hey, it's Saturday!! I am excited to have Joe home an extra day this weekend.  Of course he's working today, but we had a nice day yesterday.   We were able to pick out paint for baby boy's room, started narrowing down new carpet ideas, and are ready to tackle his room hopefully tomorrow!

This week was nice--warm, but breezy and I tried to get outside with Brooke as much as we could.

She loves trying on our "shoe-shoes"

Tuesday we went shopping with my friend and her kids. I rocked the bump.

I had to buy baby boy a few things…it was Gap card Tuesday (extra 10% off!) and 20-30% on top of that.  I also grabbed some socks (so cute right?!) and hats (they say "new arrival" at H & M.  I am doing the same thing I did for Brooke and buying bigger. I had one newborn onesie and she wore it twice and was out of it. 0-3 and 3-6 months will be fine.

Now that I've had a winter baby, I know exactly what I liked/what worked best.  Obviously cute dresses aren't even an option, but I didn't put Brooke in them much when she was little anyway.  I like soft materials that are cozy and warm!

So this Target purchase may have happened. #handsomelikedaddy

I bought this is 6 month size, but that is like 12.5 lb and I am pretty sure Brooke was that at one month. We have big babes!

Fall is rearing its head, and I spotted one little mum poking through!

Brooke needed some cooler weather sleepers and these 3T (Carters) from Target fit!

Brooke's doing really well--I was brushing her teeth last night and did notice her back molars are coming through--she has not been eating as much and has been pulling on her ears.  I also think she's a bit more clingy and that explains it.  Poor girl!

She got a "bloon" from visiting Daddy at work, while I ran Sadie to the vet next door. [sidenote: don't give your dog Nylabones, as they can BREAK THEIR TEETH. What??  Oy, so now we need to get a tooth extracted and all that jazz. I swear I've never had such high maintenance dogs!]

How are baby and I doing?  Quite well!  I definitely do a lot during the early part of the day and then by the end of the day, 7/8 I am DONE. I just want to put my feet up and relax.

Still having prego brain-- I totally shaved my legs and my left armpit, but completely forgot the right one.  Noticed that last night after running around in a tank top all day. #awesome

Used up all but one egg yesterday and was going to make sure I get to the grocery store…but forgot. This morning Joe got one egg and we ate some organic frozen waffles.  Thank goodness I had something on hand! I made him a pb&j for a snack too because I felt bad. Oops!

Wish list:

While I am trying to be super practical with baby #2, there are a few things I am looking into that I did not have for Brooke.  I used a K'tan for her when she seemed a little fussy or I wanted to wear her and I loved it.  I just know that to make my life easier, I will be wearing little boy a lot more-- so I am looking into ring slings.  I hear that Sakura Bloom are really wonderful linen sling that hold up well and are somewhat stylish haha.

I'm loving this color.

I have a bouncy seat I used for Brooke but it is really near the floor and doesn't rock. We barely used it; I would put Brooke in it while I showered/did my hair.  I LOVE our swing, but that thing is pretty big and bulky so it stays on our first floor. I am thinking this may be helpful for when we are upstairs and I don't want Brooke sitting on him or something.  It seems easy to travel with too, so if we go some place we don't have to carry the huge pack and play everywhere. I won't use it for sleeping the night, only because we are very big on putting baby in crib as soon as we can…it worked really well for Brooke, so I'm hoping he does as well as she did.

Thoughts?

I still need silly things like boy bibs, more sleepers, etc. But I will pace myself and I have a feeling even though I won't have a baby shower/sprinkle, Christmas is right before we are due, so we may get a few things there too.  Goodness knows I won't want much under that tree for me! It's all about the kiddos this year!

OK I need to get my booty to the grocery store for some eggs..which I really try not to do on a Saturday. Ca-razy!  Happy Labor Day weekend. Enjoy the last weekend of Summer!

Weekend Clips

Thursday was fun!! I participated in a Freezer Meal Workshop and I am SO happy that I did.  It was a little fast paced, as we did 10 meals in under 2 hours, but holy moly, does it feel good to have some frozen meals on hand from now until baby boy!  Some days you just don't feel like cooking, going out, or ordering a pizza. Just take one of these meals out, defrost, and cook!

I just love cooking, so I do feel bad when there are nights I don't feel like cooking.  This idea is perfection!

My friend Cathy was super organized and had the workshop flowing successfully.

Some of the meals included burgers--I used up our ground venison! 8 patties, which is kind of a lot for us, but hey we can entertain now!



Cathy was so organized, she had labels for our bags, so it literally takes the thinking out when we go to cook up our meals.



I had TWO huge coolers filled.

And I should have laid them on their side, oops, but my meals all stacked in!

Friday we spent just the three of us. {speaking of burgers, I finally got mine!}

Saturday I was organizing, cleaning and I made eggplant parm casserole and homemade gnocchi.  It was a tad soft, so I need to work on that recipe.

Someone doesn't like waiting for her food.

Sunday morning was an impromptu play date--Brooke loved the little house and the sandbox.

So much that she fell asleep on the way home.

Only to awaken on the way to Joey's grandma's house!  She got to run around and stuff her face with fresh tomatoes.

Looking at the sheep.

Twirling.

Eating those tomatoes again.

And great grandma's homemade chocolate chip cookies.

We came home, I cleaned up the kitchen while both Joe and Brooke fell asleep.  The house was quiet, but I could hear the crickets chirping, with a slight breeze…I busted out a leadership/business book that caught my eye and started reading.  I thought Joe would like it, but he doesn't really have the time to read a whole book, so I thought I could read it and we could talk about it.  It's really good!

I saw it posted on Facebook as a few of the leaders in AdvoCare were reading it and it just fits right up my husband (and my) alley.  It's all about how some ideas take off, what makes people tick and why certain things are more popular.  Good stuff! I grabbed it on Amazon, as they have the best price.

I really only try to buy books that I will reference again or that I want to write in.  If it's a cheesy silly beach read, I will make an effort to just get a loan copy, but something like this I liked being able to take notes in. #oldschool #englishmajor #foreverstudent

Baby Boy!

I cannot tell you how nervous and excited I was to go to our anatomy scan for baby number two.  I don't remember being this nervous for Brooke.  I could hardly sleep last night and as I re-cap today, I am just exhausted!! It's funny how much our emotions can wear us out.  In a good way, of course!

Before we went into our appointment!

I don't know when exactly I started thinking it was a boy… I never wanted to really admit it out loud because I thought Brooke was a boy, and well I was totally wrong!  I want to say it was when I started feeling super nauseous (like I did with Brooke) first trimester, but this time was worse. I still didn't throw up, but man I felt horrible and just different. I seemed to feel my best in the morning and worse at night.  I also thought I was carrying a little different, but I also was thinner this time around when I got pregnant.

Other signs? I craved lemons/lemonade anything sour!  I still like sweets, but don't crave them like I did with Brooke. I really could take them or leave them and I really try to leave them!  I also want cheeseburgers and fried chicken, which again, I try not to indulge in very much, if at all!

Silly signs--

I did the baking soda/pee in the cup---it totally fizzed really fast but then disappeared. We weren't sure what the heck that meant!

Chinese gender chart said boy!

When we asked Brooke, "Girl or boy?" She always said, "BOY!" Until today when I went to go leave for the ultrasound she said, "Girl."  Trickster!

I bought a little frog sleeper and stuck it my hope chest shortly after finding out that I was expecting.  We also picked out a "harbor blue" paint color that we liked, if it so happened to be a boy.  Joe was convinced it was another girl, so that was the only time he really put forth anything for a boy.  The rest of the time he has told me, don't expect it to be a boy…



But it is!!

I know I would be happy with two little girls, but I just really wanted to experience both! I also thought it would be perfect, since I only had sisters and Joe has a brother--it broke the mold!  How cool!?  I also worried that since their birthdays are so close, it might cause competition or hurt feelings…but I have pretty good idea that a little boy will be totally fine with whenever his birthday falls.  I think girls are more dramatic like that.   I also think a sister/brother relationship is different than same sex ones. I don't know (obviously) but I just think it would be.

Because I'm all cheesy like that, I of course have "a song" to play.  Last time I kept playing a few songs over and over about a girl, and now I keep ballin my eyes out over this one.

I played it this morning before we went, and cried a little. I was going to send it to Joe, but thought, no I won't.  On the way to the Dr's I asked to send me a sign.  Another Brad Paisley song came on the radio and I thought, "ok…"  Sign acknowledged, thank you!

Our little man flexing his muscles!!

Our, "OMG WE GOT A BOY" faces…and all my makeup cried off.

I still can't believe it and I don't even know where to start. It's funny how finding out the gender makes everything seem so real.  I can envision the room and what he may look like and how he will fit right into our lives.  Ahhh! I am just so excited and filled with joy.  We are so very blessed and I know that these next 20 weeks will fly right by.  

Toddler "School"

I believe it is the nesting instinct kicking in, but I know that soon enough we are going to have cold weather and be stuck inside more often than not!  I have been keeping my eyes peeled for inexpensive ways to keep my busy body toddler entertained.  I know it won't work for all kids, and I admit, sometimes I do these activities and she has such a short attention span, I wonder if it's making a difference?  But it helps me feel better about the times when the TV is on, and my attention is not on her.

***These activities are used under my supervision only.  Small parts and a 1.5 year old, some things still go into the mouth, or she's just really messy with…so I am with her 100% hands on during this time.***

Target Dollar: 

I just went there last week and they have TONS of goodies for "back to school" and I feel like they're catering towards homeschoolers or at least us parents who like to do a little extra 'learning' at home.

Some supplies:

-counting shapes/colors
-stamps
-Hello Kitty play pack--these are so handy to bring out and about--restaurants etc.

I love these JUMBO ziploc bags that she hasn't quite figured out how to open!  I also keep them in a 3 tier plastic drawer organizer; the top drawer she can get into her crayons (which are broken) and coloring books (ripped) whenever she wants.  I keep the 'special ones' on the bottom, and if she does bring the ziploc bag to me, I know she wants to do them!



-magnetic numbers (perfect for the fridge or cookie sheets)



$1 Store
-special Minnie crayons to be used only with momma (so she doesn't break them on purpose)
-crayon holder

-Learning books--I am well aware she is far too young to "get" any of these concepts.  Honestly, why they work for me, is I don't always know what to say to her while we do these activities.  So we go through and trace, color, and I just read about what the pages say.  She listens, and that has to count for something.

Her faves include: Mickey, Sesame Street and anything with stickers--that crayola book had some!

Sometimes I spend her naps reading up on what else to do--this book is FULL of quick and simple ideas to work on sensory, gross and fine motor skills, as well as creativity. I am already bookmarking and writing down a lot of ideas!  I was excited to see I had done a few already!

Saturday {8.16.14}

We busted out the stamps--she was fascinated!

I also let her "paint" for the first time.

I just put a little bit of water in a bowl and gave her paint brushes.

She seemed to just like to play in the water, silly girl.

So even though I feel like I have no clue what I am doing and we have our rough patches, I do try to think of some creative and learning ways to spend parts of our day.  When all else fails, give her my jewels and clothes and she plays dress up.

I think she may be ready for some real live finger painting and maybe even some shaving cream fun?  I gotta get my supplies built up before snow flies and I'm waddling like a big old pregnant woman.  

I saw this "Frozen Erupting Snow" and may want to give it a whirl. Frozen Snow

Anything else I can try?