Random Musings

- I just got an email telling me when my ten year high school reunion is.  I'm very excited but also feeling very old!

- Grey's Anatomy is having a musical episode tonight...not sure how I feel about that yet. 

- Apparently it's Opening Day for baseball today....I could really care less.....I miss football :(

- New Baby's crib arrived yesterday and I cannot wait to set it up!  It makes it feel way more real to me now.  Here's what it looks like!

- I had a total panic last night about the fact that I will soon be a mommy to TWO kids.  How will I ever take them both out by myself? What about bathtime / bedtime when Skip is working nights?  Begin freak-out now.

- It's going to snow tomorrow....in April. 

- I'm happy to be heading to Maryland for the weekend for my Marine's Girl L's baby shower!! {though the three hour drive will probably be more like ten with all the bathroom stops I'll have to make

- Since I won't be bloggin the next few days, I'll post the topic for Sunday Favorites now...it is what is your favorite perfume?  I'm looking for some new scents to try and look forward to your responses on Sunday!

- We're only going away for one night but I'm going to miss my puppies like crazy!  Haven't been away from them for the night since Little M was born!

- I really need to finish painting Little M's big girl room.  11 weeks and 3 days until my due date and I have tons to do!

- Sometimes I feel like I will be nauseous forever

- Online shopping makes it way too easy to spend money...someone take away my credit cards!

- Hubs and I *finally* decided on a name for New Baby a few weeks ago...can't wait until I can share it all with you!

Have a great weekend and don't forget to link up for Sunday Favorites!

Wordless Wednesday - Bulldog Style

Mr. B is just like his mom...he loves to lay in the sun!



Top 2 Tuesdays!

Today's topic is Top 2 Celebrity Hairstyles!

Reese Witherspoon.  She is such a classic beauty and her hair always looks perfect!  I think she looks great no matter what she does with it, long, short, bangs, curls.  She can do it all!  I would love if my hair looked like hers one day!

Rachel McAdams.  She is another one who seems to be able to pull off any color, look she wants too.  She's done the whole spectrum it seems from blond, to red, to brunette...each of them better than the last!

So which celebrity hairstyles do you love the most?



Pregnancy Update - Week 28

How far along - 28 weeks

Maternity clothes - Bottoms are all maternity except for some yoga pants and sweatpants...most tops are non maternity, though I am LOVING my Old Navy nursing tanks!  Don't know why I didn't buy them with Little M.  They are so long and great for layering!

Weight gain - Holding steady at 28lbs, hopefully the weight gain will taper off now.  With Little M I only put on 5 lbs the whole 3rd trimester

Stretch marks - none thank the Lord!  I'm determined to still be able to wear a bikini again!

Belly button - It wants to pop out so bad

Sleep - Love sleep.  Apparently my iron levels are even lower than when my doctor put me on iron pills a few weeks ago, so I'm really anemic.  At least that explains why I'm tired all the freakin' time...I'm not just being lazy!

Best moment this week - Finally ordered the crib...wahoo!

Movement -All the time.  This baby is going to be a kung fu master.  Sometime it is moving around so much it makes me really nauseous!

Foods I'm loving - Yogurt, candy, pizza, sandwiches

Foods I'm hating - Chicken is iffy....can't eat alot of anything in one sitting, my stomach is squished!

Symptoms - Nausea, still....I should have bought stock in Zofran!  Exhaustion, face breaking out, a little swelling at night, nesting in full force now!

Gender - I should have been more specific last time.  We found out the gender but are keeping it a secret until the birth!

What I'm looking forward to - Seeing my Marine's Girls this weekend!!  L is pregnant also {due exactly 3 weeks before me!} with her first and we are heading down to go to her shower.  Can't wait to see them!

What I miss - Bending over and being able to comfortably tie my own shoes

Milestones - Third trimester!!!

Emotions - Between General Hospital and Army Wives last night I am just crying all the time!

Little M's Big Girl Room - A CSN Review

With New Baby's impending arrival, we are working on transforming our guest room into a "big girl bedroom" for Little M.  I'm so excited to make it as girlie as possible!  I am currently painting it pink and we will accent it with black and white.  The overall theme of the room will be "Parisian Elegance".  It is a room I hope she will enjoy now, as well as grow into in the future!

Of course I immediately went to CSN to look for all the bedding and other accessories I would need.  I was blown away by their selection!  They have TONS of French inspired decor.  The hardest part was deciding which pattern I liked best!  I finally decided on the Jo Jo Designs Black French Toile Series.  I have seen it other places before, but CSN had the best prices by far!

My first order was the laundry hamper and nightlight. 



Photo from CSN.com




Photo from CSN.com

I was anxious to get them since I was waiting to pick the exact paint color until I could hold up the samples next to them.  I was happy when they arrived only a few days after ordering!  I also could not be more pleased with their quality and overall look.  Both of these pieces seem like they will be able to stand up to the test of a spirited two year old girl!  Their look is timeless and Little M will be able to use them for years to come.

I was very happy with my order.  I have already ordered the matching curtains and will soon be getting the whole bedding set.  I cannot wait until her room is finished!  It is wonderful that I have a place like CSN to go to for all my household needs.  They have a huge selection, their prices fit right into my budget, and I don't have to spend hours searching the web for items.  They have everything I need! 


Disclaimer: I received a gift card from CSN to use towards the purchase of the hamper and nightlight.  I was not compensated monetarily for my opinions.  All of the thoughts expressed are my own, and I was not persuaded in any way.

Sunday Favorites

Happy Sunday everyone!  As I said yesterday, this week's Sunday Favorites topic is what is your favorite movie and why?

My all-time favorite, must watch it every time it's on TV, never get sick of it, movie is Notting Hill.

image from google.com

I saw it when it first came out and I have loved it ever since.  I mean really, do you get much better romantic-comedy acting than Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant?  I think not.



image from google.com

 It is really really funny, super romantic, and British {just like me!  haha}.  I mean you really can't go wrong.  But I'd have to say that one of the main reasons I love this movie so much is for the quotes.  The dialogue is really fantastic.  Here are just a few of my favorites.

Anna Scott: Busy tomorrow?
William: I thought you were leaving tomorrow?
Anna Scott: I was.



Anna Scott: Can I stay for a while?

William: You can stay forever.



William: It's as if I've taken love heroin, and now I can't ever have it again.




Anna Scott: "For June who loved this garden from Joseph who always sat beside her." Some people do spend their whole lives together.




Anna Scott: I'm also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.




 
Now it's your turn!  What's your favorite movie?  Grab my button, link up, and hop around and check out the others....enjoy!

Topic for Sunday Favorites

I'm hoping for a good turn out this week, so I thought it best to let you know what the topic is early so you can get your post all ready! 

This week's Sunday Favorites topic is going to be....What is your favorite movie and why? I always feel like you can tell a lot from a person from their favorite movie!

Don't forget to grab my button and link up here tomorrow!!! {Also, please let me know if you have any topics you'd like to see for Sunday Favorites!}

Saturday Morning Scenes

Skip is currently outside building a shed in our backyard.  Since it is only 28* right now {AT THE END OF MARCH} this little girl has to stay inside with Mommy and only watch from the window.  She is less than happy about it:(

High School Memories

Ashley Paige wrote a fabulous post this morning about who she was way back in high school.  Since she and I graduated from that same all-girls Catholic high school 10 years ago {umm, no way are we that old} I thought it would be appropriate to do a post of my own!

First off I must put up a disclaimer.  I have NO IDEA how Ashley Paige managed to find time to do all of those things.  Please don't think I was any where near as ambitious as she was, because I wasn't, haha.  Here is how I passed the time my four years.

1. I was a member of the French Club and the French Honor Society.  Now that may sound fancy but we really only sat around watching French movies, going to see Les Miserables on Broadway, and dining at some local French restaurants.

2. I was on a dance committee at one of the local boys schools.  Our purpose was to organize a huge dance every year to raise money for Muscular Distrophy.  It was a great cause and we did raise a substantial amount of money every year.  But my bestie and I also got to go to the boys school during lunch every few weeks to sell tickets for it.  There was NO way I would pass up an opportunity like that!

3. I was involved in one of the local churches youth group, but I'll be honest, it was mainly because that's where the boys were.  {starting to notice a patten?}

4. I did have several jobs as well in high school.  I babysat, worked for my dad's photo lab, and worked at a school uniform store.  So not ALL of my time and energy was spent chasing boys...just most of it ;)  Let's just say no one was really all that surprised that I was married at 22!

So who were you in high school?  What activities kept you busy?  And don't worry, before you go, I'll leave you with a few pictures I found on my computer....can you believe we didn't even have Facebook back then?!?!  I'll have to break out the scanner sometime soon!



Yes we wore uniforms...yes like AP my skirt was always too short and my shirt was never tucked in!



All dressed up for one of our many semi-formal dances

I drove a mini van cause I was just that cool

Senior prom!

I took my best friend E as my date, and yes he wore those sunglasses all night!

Graduation June 2001

Random Ramblings

It is currently snowing outside...at the end of March....after it was 75* last week.  It is messing with my mind so much that I cannot handle a post comprised of anything more than bullet points, so here you go.

- I passed my gestational diabetes test last week....wahoo!!  I have to admit that I was nervous since I eat enough cookies and candies to kill a small horse, but apparently that doesn't matter!

- They did tell me that my iron levels are actually lower than they were a few weeks ago when they put me on iron pills.  At least I know why I am ridiculously tired all the freakin' time.  I hope doubling the dosage helps!

- My nesting instinct is in full force recently.  Shame the exhaustion and nausea don't allow me to get much done.

- I am going to start potty training Little M in a few weeks.  I'm totally excited and freaking out at the same time.  Any tips you can give would be greatly appreciated!

- There is a lot of discussion about possible big changes at Skip's job because of budget concerns.  He says if he loses his job he will just go active duty Marine Corps.  I am less than thrilled at this prospect.

- I've officially turned into a techie nerd.  Last week Skip and I bought a brand new HP desktop computer and Nikon DSLR camera.  I cannot stop playing with either of them!  Thank you Uncle Sam for the generous tax return! {I'm also accepting any tips you have on properly using a DSLR camera..I'm pretty sure I can't just use the manual setting forever!}

- My little girl has gone from baby to toddler to straight up KID.  We can hold conversations together, she has opinions and makes up stories for her toys.  I literally cannot believe how fast time has flow.

- Little M fell out of her bed for the first time last night:(  Thankfully she was not upset or hurt at all and just got back into bed!

- I may feel like I will be pregnant forever but I had a slight freak-out this morning when I realized New Baby will be here in a little more than 12 weeks!!  I have sooo much to do before then!

- It's weird to think that I will be putting an end to my baby-growing days {there is no way I or my family could survive another pregnancy} before most of my friends even start their families.  Makes me feel old.

- I am quickly growing out of all my winter stuff and REALLY need the warm weather to come and stick around!

- Yesterday Little M and I got in the car to go shopping.  She said, "Grandmom's house?" {her way of asking if we were going to visit my mom}  I said, "No M, Grandmom is at the beach this week."  She thought about it for a minute and said "Okay Mommy.  Beach.  Let's go!"  haha....what a cutie she is!

- I found a drive-thru Dunkin Donuts near me.  I may just start going there every other day!

- I'm a little sad no one linked up for my Sunday Favorites a few weeks ago.  Any interest there?  Should I have posted the topic a day or so earlier so you would have a chance to post?  I'm going to try one more time this weekend before I give up :(

- Does anyone else watch General Hospital?  Because the Jake story-line is one of the saddest things I have ever seen on TV.  I just cannot.stop.crying

- So happy a new Grey's is *finally* on tomorrow.  I am in need of some McDreamy and girl time with my bestie J!

- I managed to find the energy to clean the entire house and do 6 loads of laundry today....so I feel no guilt that Little M and I are going to eat waffles for dinner!

Saturday Morning Scenes

I'm linking up again today with Katie and Saturday Morning Scenes!

I'd like to introduce you to my new baby, which I will be playig with all day.

I really have no idea how to use it properly but am excited to start learnnig {and to stop stealing pictures from my dad and big sis who take way better pictures than I do}  With Little M gettting cuter every day and New Baby making it's appearance soon, we decided it was definitely time to enter the DSLR world.  Any tips or tricks you have are much appreciated!

For Japan With Love

My heart breaks every day with the rising death toll and worsening nuclear situation in Japan.  The horror they are dealing with is unthinkable.  So take a moment today to say a prayer or send a donation.

A Wee Bit Irish

Though the hubs may be Italian...my little girl and I are most certainly part Irish!  And this little leprechaun hopes you all had a great St. Patrick's Day!

Jumping!

Peek a boo!

Going down the big girl slide all by herself!

Toddler Photo Shoot

I probably have thousands of pictures of Little M when she was a baby.  I wanted to document every tiny thing she did, and she was just so darn cute!  And as she has grown, Little M is constantly doing tons of things I want to remember, plus she is getting even cuter {if that is even possible}.  But there is one major difference....I have not been taking nearly as many pictures.  Sure I'm more tired these days {New Baby invading my body and all} and Little M is constantly on the go, but those shouldn't be the reason.  So what  is it?  

Determined to overcome the lack of pictures I decided to have a mini, impromptu photo shoot the other day with Little M.  Nothing fancy, just in the playroom in whatever clothes she already had on.  This is what happened...

Hiding

Covering her mouth

Squishy face

Hoping I can't see her if she can't see me

Last resort, screaming

Finally...ONE good one

Okay, I get it now.  Mystery solved.

Purex Crystals Winners

According to random.org the three winners of the Purex Crystals coupons are

1.Allie said...

Oooooh I loooove fabric softener! It just makes clothes so soft and smell nice!

My favorite chore has to be dusting oddly enough. I love gettting to reorganize everything when I move it around to get underneath things. I may just be weird.

imyewneek@yahoo.com

2.Lindsay said...

Mine's laundry, actually - I love that dirty things go in, and clean, fresh smelling things come out!

3.Aly said...

My favorite chore is vacuuming. Immediate satisfaction when I dump out the container. :)

Aly at infertilityoverachievers dot com

Congratulations ladies!  I'll be emailing you this week!!

Top 2 Tuesdays

Today's Top 2 Tuesdays is two random facts about yourself!

1. I think eating cereal with milk poured over it is disgusting.  It gets way too soggy.  So when I eat cereal I take a bite of the dry cereal from my bowl, take a sip of milk from my glass, and chew.  I then repeat with each bite. Weird, yes, but more importantly, effective!   I never have any sogginess!

2. I buy most of my clothes in the juniors department still {well, not when I'm pregnant}  I especially love all the juniors jeans.  I'm built like a teenager still so I like to think I can get away with it.  And who doesn't love the cheaper prices!  I am dreading 30 because I feel like I might have to give this up and actually move to the women's section of Kohl's :(

Pregnancy Update - Week 26

How far along - 26 weeks

Maternity clothes - Just bought some more clothes this week.  Some maternity and some non maternity.  I'm so sick of my maternity jeans that I bought a pair of regular jeans in a larger size and am rocking those with a rubber band around the button...not as comfy but way cuter!

Weight gain - 27 lbs.

Stretch marks - none

Belly button - very flat

Sleep - My favorite thing ever.

Best moment this week - Spring forward!  I love that it will be lighter later now...bring on the summer!

Movement - All the time...this baby is going to be a gymnast for sure!

Foods I'm loving - Waffles.  I have them every single morning.  Yummmmm

Foods I'm hating - Leftovers.  For some reason I cannot stand them recently.

Symptoms - All day nausea.  I get sick if I miss a dose of my Zofran.  Looks like I'm just going to be sick the rest of the pregnancy.  Also fatigue, lots of back pain, some swelling at night, face breaking out.

Gender - It's a surprise!

What I'm looking forward to - June

What I miss - Being able to tie my sneakers without a great deal of effort

Milestones - Every week closer is a milestone.

Emotions - Trying to stay positive and push myself when I feel okay because it makes me feel better about myself.

Sunday Favorites

Big things are happening this week for Sunday Favorites.  Now YOU can join in the fun!  I have made my very own button and added a linky at the end of the post!  {Please don't make fun of my button.  I know it's ridiculously simple, but it's all I could handle right now!}

So grab my button, add it to your post, and link up below!

This week's top is Favorite Vacation Spot

I have been very lucky to visit some wonderful places in my lifetime....Barbados, Florida, Punta Cana, London, Paris.  But so far, my favorite vacation destination is San Diego, CA.  Back in the summer of 2004 Skip was stationed at Camp Pendleton for pre-deployment training.  He got a few days leave over the Fourth of July so I flew out there to be with him and just fell in love with the city!  I'm not typically a fan of big cities, but San Diego was cleaner, more laid back, and way less overwhelming than most cities I have been to.  The beaches were huge and relaxing.  And the weather was absolutely perfect!  Skip really liked it too and we even toyed with the idea of moving out there when he got home.  {We did change our minds when we realized how slow-paced everyone is.  Great for vacation, bad for every day life}  It was a perfect four-day weekend and we can't wait to go back there again in the future!

Having some drinks at the Hustler Bar with Larry Flynt {no really!  He was at our table.  Story for another time}

Exploring the beaches

On the boardwalk

On the base....loved all the Marines everywhere!

Now it's your turn to link up! 

Saturday Morning Scenes

This morning I'm linking up with Katie over at Loves of Life for Saturday Morning Scenes!

Skip worked a double shift yesterday from 3 pm until 7 am this morning.  Needless to say he will be spending the rest of the morning, and most of the afternoon sleeping.  But we did have to get in some snuggles with him first!

Show Us Your Life - Birthday Parties

This week's topic for "Show Us Your Life" over at Kelly's blog is children's birthday parties.  I'm definitely no expert in this area as Little M has so far only had two parties.  But I thought I'd share anyway!

I've kept her both her parties pretty low key so far.  I figure she's too young to remember, or even really realize what's going on, so they're more for the families anyway.  We've had both parties at home.  For her first birthday we had both Skip and my families over on the same day.  For her second birthday, we had my family over one day, and Skip's over the next, since I was barely three months pregnant and very puke-y still. {not that that has changed at all, haha}  We also have held her party the weekend before her actual birthday.  Skip and I have wanted her actual day to be celebrated with just the three of us. 

So let's take a look! {all the really good pictures were taken by my older sister, since she's a much better photgrapher than I am!}

First Birthday - Elmo Theme

Decorations were kept very simple

We just decorated everything in red!

I made all the food

Except the cupcake cake which I picked up at our local supermarket

Because this face was all that mattered!

The birthday girl wore a special cupcake dress!

Second Birthday - Ladybug Theme

I made this sign and the rest of the decorations were black and red {some left over from last year!}

Skip and I again made all the food

Chocolate cupcakes with red icing and foam ladybugs on top.  Ladybug photo frames with Little M's picture in them.

I made these ladybug cookies.

Birthday girl wore a black and red tutu!

What have you done for your kids parties?  Head over and link up!