checklists and countdowns

It seems like we've been doing a lot with both of these here recently.

Last night it hit me that our little girl will be here in ONE MONTH!! That's right folks, we are at 4 weeks and counting. So I figured that it was time to make a checklist for all the things that need to be done before she arrives.

As you know I've been sewing a bit recently and I talked about making a nursing cover a few weeks ago after my trip to the fabric store. I finished it today and I am happy with the results. Who knew I could make such a thing?!?! Here are a few pictures of my little project. It was fun, and only took about two hours start to finish. Can't beat that!

pieces pinned and ready to sew together

close-up of strap that goes around neck

all finished
here it is on me, excuse the bad picture. I took it myself in a mirror, and with my shirt it sort of all blends together, but you get the idea.

I have a few more projects on my list - I think next up will be a play-mat. We also finished getting her bed together. She now has a mattress and all the bedding has been washed and assembled.



We had another great weekend. We took a trip up to Newport yesterday - so.much.fun!! We rode a train, went to an aquarium, took a ride in a fire-truck, made a quick beach visit, drove past the amazing houses...it was wonderful.

Hot shot with his Daddy

the Munchkin riding the carousel

Today we went to church and have been enjoying family time. I've got dinner cookin' and a fresh batch of sweet tea ready to go - things just don't get much better. Hope you all have had a nice weekend!

blueberries with love

I was so ready for this weekend! Nothing big or huge going on, but I have done nothing but spend quality time with friends and family - bliss.

We had our "big brother" day for the boys yesterday, and we also had a little send off breakfast for our neighbors who left to move to VA. They have kids the same age as ours, and we have all become good friends, so we wanted to send them off with full bellies knowing they would be missed around here. Here is my little (soon to be middle) and their middle one enjoying some Saturday AM cartoons.

These two share a birthday and are only hours apart age-wise. Jennie (mom) and I have already decided it would be the perfect arranged marriage...hehe.

I got a little daring and tried THREE new recipes for this, and I have to say they were ALL wonderful. Baked french toast, an egg casserole dish, and THESE wonderful blueberry muffins. I picked up fresh blueberries when we were out the night before and had been craving some muffins, so I whipped these together Sat morning and they didn't disappoint!

When it comes to menu planning I tend to go a little overboard, but in this case it worked out. The eggs and french toast were all but gone, and the rest (muffins and fruit) we will enjoy for ourselves this week. My perfect way to start the day.

After we said our "see ya laters" we got things cleaned up then left to celebrate the rest of the day with the boys. We took them duck pin bowing (a new favorite for the boys - and new to us southerners) and then to dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe (at the boys request). Then we surprised them with a stay at a hotel with all that comes with it - movies, jumping on beds, and of course swimming in the pool. They had a ball and it was a nice little get away. And as a bonus for me, this AM at the pool if you were sitting in the sun, it was so warm and bright in the room you could almost imagine it wasn't 20 degrees outside!! I didn't want to leave!!

We're back home now, enjoying more family time. It's pretty cold today so we did movies, more Wii Bowling, and as soon as our dough finishes rising, we're making pizza. YUM! This weekend with the people I love was truly the best thing EVER - and just what I needed! Hope you are all enjoying your weekends - and seriously, if you like muffins - give those a try!

tickeld pink

Happy St. Valentines Day everyone! Anyone out there doing anything special today?? We usually stick pretty low-key around here for the Valentines Day. This AM I made my two little Valentines pancakes to start off the day, and the hubby got his choice of what I made for dinner/dessert tonight. And of course lots of hugs and kisses all around, but really that's not any different than any other day here.

I've been a busy bee at the sewing machine these days.

I still haven't started the nursing cover, I need to make another trip to the fabric store before I begin, so I started on some bibs and burp-cloths - and I have to say they turned out REALLY cute.

They are not quite done, but here is what I have so far.

The bibs

The burp-cloths

Cute no? I still need to find something to cover up the clips that go with the bibs, but that's just a matter of getting out the glue gun. I'm really excited about these, and they were actually pretty easy. If you are interested, you can find the pattern for both HERE. My sewing machine and I don't get along all that well, and I swear it has something against pretty stitches, but other than that, I think they turned out pretty cute.

Alright, well that's it for me today. My little projects are pretty much all I have been doing in my "free" time. We had a nice weekend as a family, and this coming weekend is when we have the boys big brother day planned! I can't wait, it's going to be a lot of fun.

Hope you are all doing well out there!

just can't get enough

I just LOVE this. Maybe its that the little boy in it is too cute (even if you can't see his face), or the dramatic music, or even just my love of VW's (we own two), but it's the best commercial I've seen in a long time...every time I watch it (which is at least once a day by request of my three year old), it brings a smile to my face. So for today this is all I have to share. Enjoy - and let the force be with you. :)

ready or not

7 weeks and we will be gathering up the last of our stuff, so that 7 weeks from tomorrow we can head to the hospital to welcome our little girl into the world. Amazing! For those of you who don't know, I'm a scheduled c-section thanks to my first baby (he was worth it!).

So, we've been getting things ready. This week we set up the crib.


It will have a mattress, and sheets, dust ruffle, etc. But I still have to wash all that stuff, get the mattress, and there's no rush at this point.

I've also been bit by the sewing bug and have a few projects lined up. Yesterday I drove out to pick up some fabrics to make all sorts of things. From burp cloths and bibs to blankets and play mats, I stocked up. I just hope my little old machine is up for the challenge.

This is the fabric for my first project - a nursing cover. I found the pattern online, and it SEEMS like it will be something I can handle. We shall see. If it's successful, I'll post the link in case any of you feel inspired to make such a thing.
Okay, that's it for me tonight. Just wanted to post a little something. Hope to be back soon with my finished project and another one on the way. We had a super busy day today, but it was spent celebrating and catching up with friends, so all and all it was perfect! Oh, and I made these brownies to take to a superbowl party tonight. They are in fact still DELICIOUS! Have a great week y'all!

Getting Crafty

I'm taking a quiet "mommy moment" while all my boys are downstairs playing the Wii. Ahhhhh - bliss.

So, I've mentioned that we've had a bit of snow right??

Does this put things in perspective?

How about now??

And we continue to get more every week!

The kids were out of school again today. They were out yesterday as well. Because we have had so much...errr...quality time at home, I decided that we would get creative. Valentines Day is coming up and I remember being pretty disappointed in the choices available for big kid to give out to his classmates. So this year I decided that we would make our own, it's not like we've got a lack of time on our hands. I found these cute templates the other day while I was looking for some ideas for my scrapbook (another project I'm trying to get done before our little princess arrives) and thought that some of them would be really fun. Big kid helped me choose 4 that he would like to do, and we went from there. For some we made modifications - but I think overall they turned out super cute! Here is a sample of what we have so far.

We still have some finishing touches to put on, and the cute owl valentines are currently done just awaiting their google eyes. I helped a bit with all the cutting, but the big kid had fun gluing, using glitter, and sticker-ing to his hearts content. He's never been much for the arts, so I knew there would be a lot of help involved on my end, but we had fun doing this little project together. These also didn't take all that long, so if you're looking for a fun Valentines Day project to do with your little ones, or on your own, I would recommend this one.

Being stuck inside so much has inspired me to finish up some projects and start some new ones. There are a few sewing projects I have my eye on, so maybe you'll be seeing some of those...unless they turn out horrible and then we are just going to forget all about them.

Alright folks, well I'm off for today. Tomorrow's forecast is free of snow and ice, so BOTH boys are going to school and mommy is going to get a prenatal massage...I can hardly wait!!

Anyone out there??

Well - to say "it's been awhile" would be a drastic understatement. My last post was back in September, shortly after we moved to CT. Life got crazy.

Maybe crazy is the wrong word. We haven't been jet-setting across the globe, or super busy doing anything of great importance. Most people would probably look at our day to day and think it was...well...average. But with the start of school for both boys, the hubby going back to work/school/whatever, and the boys starting up activities outside of school, I feel like I just bounce from one thing to the next. Time management has taken on a whole new meaning...and some things (like this blog) fell by the wayside while I was getting things together.

Also, for those of you who don't know me personally, I don't believe I have announced on the blog that we're expecting again. This is actually pretty old news as I only have 8 weeks to go until our little one will be here. We are of course thrilled and can't wait to meet her. After two little boys, it's time for another player on "team pink". Things are going really well, and we just feel so incredibly blessed that God has given us another opportunity to bring another little miracle into the world.

That being said, I really want to TRY to keep up with this blog, but with a baby on the way...well who knows. I think if I had more of a purpose for it I would be better at sticking to posting...but I don't even know where to begin with that. Sadly I haven't been doing much baking these days - or even much adventurous cooking. Our time here has been great, and I will once again be sad to leave for our next destination, but I've sort of felt like we're in "limbo" here. Like we've got one foot here and one foot out the door. As much as I hate to admit it...we're in the waiting place again. This time we're waiting for baby to arrive, time to pass, school to end, the snow to stop...you name it.

However, we're not JUST waiting, we are still keeping busy, having fun, and enjoying all the fun (SNOW) to be had. February is going to be a busy month for us, lots of prep going on for the little one's arrival, and then shortly there after the hubs departure. We may be taking a trip down to VA to check out our new "home" for the next 3 years, and we're planning a fun "big brother" weekend for the boys to celebrate how awesome they are and to give them a special weekend before life gets crazy with a new baby.

I'm rambling, so I'm going to wrap this up, but I'll be back. Still don't know what I'll be talking about, but I'm sure I can think of something.

Happy February Everyone!!!!