Flowers, Chocolate & Balloons!

And this just in... I had a delivery to my work just now with flowers, chocolates and balloons. I love you Bo; you make me smile everyday!

Happy 3 Years to my Husband!

Three years seems like a long time when you're looking ahead, and it seems like just yesterday when you're looking back. Three years ago today, I married the man I love. The man who has been my best friend - and all that entails for almost half my life. He is my supporter, my care taker, and my daily hero. I was right to be jumping up and down with excitement on my wedding day - partnering myself with him has given me three amazing wonderful years - and I hope a lifetime of that same happiness.

In the past three years, we've had our first daughter - and are expecting our first son. Those two are absolutely the most exciting things to have happened to us in either of our lives - let alone the past three years. But we've done a lot more (though arguably less important) together in these few years: we've travelled across the country and across the world. We've done dozens - if not tens of dozens of house projects together. We've dreamed and planned about our future. We've fought, we've made up. We've celebrated and cried. And although most days may seem typical and boring - movie nights on the couch, leftovers for dinner - a single day can't go by without me considering my partner somehow; that we've truly become one unit has been a lovely miracle from God.

I looked at the inside of my ring earlier this week - and as it simply states "Real Love" is only half of our promise to each other, as I'm only one half of us now.

I love you dear husband, and thank you for all you do for me. I'm so happy to have you call me your wife... it is my favorite name (at least until I hear those babies call me mama).

Oh Boy

I just realized that in exactly 4 months from today, we'll have another baby to care for. We have a scheduled c-section for 9/23/11 if the little mcMuffin doesn't show up before that.

I've been neglectful over the past few weeks to post anything (other than one small footnote) about our new addition, but with 4 months to go, I think its time!

At our 20 week ultrasound two fridays ago, the tech told us that mcMuffin is a boy. Horray!! I wouldn't trade our little girl for the world, and am wonderfully glad we had a girl first. My little mcNugget is the BEST baby I could imagine, and I'm not sure that any girl could live up to her so close in age. At least this way we'll be able to write off this future trouble maker's habits as 'just being a boy'. And if we're blessed with another girl in the future, then there should be enough of an age difference to not compare. I am glad that we'll now have one of each though.

We're calling this baby mcMuffin, and Bo had been teasing that he was hoping for a mcMuffin with sausage this time around. We have a family name picked out as well- so I'm glad that at least is taken care of. I had no idea what to name a girl!



The only thing I've done for preparations is seperate out the neutral baby clothes from storage and get a hand-me down double umbrella stroller from my coworker. We've got a lot of nursery planning to do over the next few months - and hopefully sooner than later so I can handle the heat. Both babies will be sharing a room - so that I can corall all the diapers, ointments, playtoys, etc. in one space. I think they'll like it in the long run, but it may take some adjusting for all of us in the short term.

While this pregnancy was a HUGE surprise to me, I'm really excited about it. I was in shock for the first 10 or so weeks, but after talking to a lot of people who have a sibling close in age, I've gotten really excited about the idea. That they'll be interested in a lot of the same stuff at the same time (same toys, same trips) and possibly even get to be on the same t-ball team for a while. I am hoping to have a bit of a break for myself after this; try to get my old body back (or close to it!) and have some time for just enjoying vacations (and being mobile) with my family.

The pregnancy has been a lot of the same, and a lot different to. Yesterday Bo was able to feel mcMuffin kick for the first time, and according to the doctors and ultrasounds, everything looks good and healthy! I didn't have any morning sickness, but for a while I did have an adversion to meats and a lot of cravings for salts (especially in soda). I could hardly taste anything sweet - even though I still eat a lot of typically "sweet" food. I didnt have any cravings really for salads, mostly for cheese, crackers and some fruits. The first trimester really wore me out with insomnia, and I go to bed really early (730 or 8). I've now gotten into a pretty good routine with both eating and sleeping. I'm sleeping through the night now, and have much more energy than before.

The dogs seem to know things are different to- my older dog Missy wouldnt be near me for the first pregnancy while Trotter was my little snuggle man. Now, its reversed!

I guess this pregnancy is really quite relaxing for the moment - other than that ever looming mountain of planning we've got to do. :) More to come next month on our little mcMuffin.

Much Organized Mail

Our clever wicker baskets were a little messy and a little falling off the wall from the heaps of mail we threw in them, so I was waiting for another solution to make itself apparent before I hung them up again on my newly painted kitchen walls. I also didn't like the idea of hanging brown wicker in my cool modern kitchen -so the mail has just sat on our dining room hutch for the past few weeks.

When the pile got too large for me the other day, I realized two things: 1) I could use the scanners at work for free (yes I checked) to mass-scan my paperwork and thereby reduce what we needed to keep in hard copy. 2) I had purchased two black metal office folder hangers (each with three tiers) at our furniture sales when the company moved last October. They cost me $1 each- and even though they'd been sitting in our storage room since then, I knew I'd use them sometime! And I just looked these up: originally they had been $50 each at Officemax - yeah, you can do the dance with me - that's a $98 savings!



I had been looking into cool vintage steel bike baskets, and while they'd be more creative, they were mad expensive. One of the metal wall folder pockets made for a perfect replacement; nothing like a hundred-cent solution! And I even hung it on my own. Yes, I'm proud of myself, so what?

I have plans to use the other to corral the husband's enormous magazine collection in the bathroom as soon as we do a little touch up on the paint.

Month 9

Baby girl,

Today is your 10 month birthday, and time seems to fly by so fast. I'll be glad to be able to start counting your birthdays in years instead of months soon! But this one was a month for the history books for you.

At the beginning of the month we were fighting a stomach bug, followed by a cold and your first ear infection and fever, all of which you were kind enough to share with me. I can't believe what type of pain you were in, because that same cold had me beside myself with my own pain. You are such a trooper.

This month you learned how to clap and raise your arms in a 'yay' fashion - for every one's entertainment. Sometimes, like when Daddy & Uncle Sean celebrated a hockey goal, your timing was perfect. And at other times you continuously raised your hands and clapped asking for us to give you the "YAY!" you so deserved each time.

Your nine-month checkup (4/26) came back with great results - 87% head size for age, 90% height for age, and 43% weight for age (18+lbs). That very day you learned to crawl, and in a matter of days you've been ALL over the place. The first day you crawled maybe two feet forward. The second day, two or three feet. By day three you were across the room, and two and a half weeks later you're both fast and skilled at crawling. You've already eaten dry dog food and bumped your head when you've gotten a little too confident- which we just chalk up to your learning. Now much of our time is spent playing on the floor or giving you our fingers to hold onto as you practice walking across the room.

Our bedtime routine has gone from easy and peaceful to long and laborious. If we lay you down (even when your eyes are fully closed), within seconds you're rolled over and then pull yourself up to standing while holding on the sides of your crib and talking. Your daddy compares it to those fast drills football players do. You're just determined to not be done exploring the world for the day! You've also started to cry for us a little bit more when we leave you to play in your crib at bedtime (because there's no settling you down otherwise)- and I'm hoping that we can restore your routine soon. For now we're attentively rubbing your belly and your back, rocking you and holding you when you need it. But the idea that a 5-10 minute routine has turned into almost an hour is surprising to me.

The past week, you've had 4 teeth come in up top - all along the front, and all at the same time. On top of everything else, those have also made for some painful nights for you. Fortunately, you're still sleeping through the night after you do let yourself go to sleep. You're still munching on the sides of your mouth though, so I don't think this phase of teething is done yet.

The dogs still are a primary source for entertainment for you - anything they do from walking next to you, to licking your hand, to barking makes you laugh. You are the best giggler - and have really started to reply to when we laugh with you. Perhaps your most favorite activity though is the water: bath time, the water-sensory table at school, a running faucet - you love them all. The way you kick your feet and splash, reach out to touch the water and sometimes even drink it. I can't wait to take you swimming this summer!

Despite your middle-of-the-road weight, you'll eat almost anything we give you. Waffle pieces are a favorite, as is yogurt. You'll eat chicken and rice, cheerios, all sorts of veggies and now graham crackers. You can even drink water (a little messy) out of a cup or with a straw.

You still don't say much other than "da da da" or the less-frequent "ba ba" and don't know what those mean yet. I'm really looking forward to the day when I hear "ma ma"! And speaking of "da da", you're completely in love with him. When he's in the room, you follow him with your eyes and when he just looks at you you smile so wonderfully its like the sun is shining. I get those smiles to when I surprise you and in the mornings. You do love me, but there is something special about you being a daddy's girl right now. And you often 'choose' to go to me (arms outstretched and leaning into me) first if you're in need of your mama. My arms are always waiting and happy to have you.

So happy 10 month birthday little one. I'm so very happy to have you as my number one daughter.

hugs & love,
Your Mama

Mother's Day Moments

I had a lovely first mother's day with my mcNugget, which was actually spread over two days. On Saturday we planted some periwinkle, and Bo bought us a mommy-and-me planting kit which came with a sunflower for her and a blue hydrangea plant for me.

On Sunday he made me waffles for breakfast, washed my car, did the laundry (and hung it out on the line) and played with mcNugget while I took two full naps. It was pretty great. :)

Below are some shots from my Mother's day... who doesn't love to see a kid play in the dirt for the first time? Of course we're still washing the dirt out of her ears - and yes, she did manage to get a mouthful before we could stop her. :)

Lamp Love

I made a spontaneous purchase the other day - in the form of the Eiffel tower. Well an Eiffel tower lamp to be more specific.

My husband and I fell in love in Paris - on a high school band trip - though it took us years to realize it. That, along with our honeymoon to Italy gave us a real love for travel-themed items. We almost did a travel themed nursery for our little mcNugget but were having difficulty finding enough components to make it work... maybe this time around!

So anyway, I came across this piece at our local HomeGoods, and having admired the target version for a few years - had to pick it up. I didn't love the lamp shade on the target one, and it was too expensive (currently marked at $45) to not absolutely love. This homegoods version cost me only $24, and the wheat-colored drum lamp shade was more my style than the other.

So we bumped our in-need-of-repair set of $19 Ikea lamps for two mis-matched ones. The oil-rubbed desk light we had gotten at Lowes on clearance a few weeks ago for $30. I love that style of light and one of our Ikea lamp shade kept falling off thanks to my dog's nose bumping it every day - so I had to  replace it.

Here's the Lowe's lamp with our Ikea one:

And here's the new lamp set during the day:

And the close up of the two new lamps:

And the functioning but not great Ikea lamp - I have 3 if anyone is interested!

I love the new lamps. I was a little nervous at first that it was such a spur-of-the-moment buy, but just sitting in the room makes me happy. I actually have texted people about it. Its the little things, right? I think it makes the room look a little more formal, and a little less cookie-cutter. Plus the dogs enjoy them too. :)

Garden Mockup

I doubt there is a place in our home that hasn't been touched by us somehow. Perhaps the creepy basement, but otherwise, everything has gotten a little piece of our action. Some more than others though - like the kitchen or bathrooms. But one of our slightly overlooked areas has been our side yard. We have a really nice side yard - and it is probably bigger than a lot of people's back yards if they live in the city. But we've always focused on our front and back yards, not knowing what to do with the mostly shaded space.

So we've got a plan that I've put together via photoshop. But first - some before photos:

Taken from the front corner of our house

Taken head on, standing next to the white dogwood at the front of our house

A view of the side of our house

Standing in the same spot, rotated to show more of the back

A view from the back yard looking into the street

And here's the start of the "plan" - which is just a mockup in photoshop. There are a few things I knew that I wanted to do:

1. Fill it up - I want this to be a relaxing private nook garden; a little get-away if you will. There's minimum privacy when you live in a twin and your other neighbors are 30-40 feet from your house.
2. Low maintenance - meaning we'd have to fill up the space with shade loving plants. To me that had to include pachysandra. I planted a sample last year to see how it would grow - and it came back despite the heat and clay soil. It isn't as invasive as ivy, and I fell in love with it a few years ago visiting Longwood Gardens. I always remember it because in my head I call it the elephant plant (as in pachyderm).  I think its nice when the beds of it are cropped back in a shape
3. I want it to be inexpensive - and to reuse the existing plants like hosta and day lillies that grow so well in my yard. We should have enough hosta to fill under the maple tree. I'm all about reusing. That means no annuals. I hate the idea of having to repurchase flowers year after year. Also, this means buying the plants small - so it won't be filled up front - just hopefully after one or two years.  
4. I wanted to have a modern walkway in a slightly offset geometric pattern. I want the walkway to really be the statement piece.

The right side of the yard still needs some height in my opinion and the scale is off, so it probably needs more plants in general to 'fill it up' - but I have to do some more investigating to see what will grow in full or part shade. I may consider a standing fountain or boulders of some sort as well; probably not a bench as I can't see us sitting out there much.

Lastly, I do hope hydrangeas will work in this yard; I've tried about 3 times now with no success. I may need the services of a plant whisperer.



I Love Lilacs

We've lived here for 6 years, and this is the most my lilac tree has ever bloomed; so I did what I always wanted to - I cut down enough for a vase. Mind you this robbed the poor thing of about half of teh good blooms, but now I'll enjoy them inside and out.