8 Is Enough

I am the queen of never following through on tags, but I thought this one, from my friend Miriam, was lots o' fun! Play along if you'd like...

8 Favorite TV shows...
1. 30 Rock
2. The Office
3. Chuck
4. How I Met Your Mother
5. CSI: Miami
6. Psych
7. The Ellen DeGeneres Show
8. Arrested Development (on DVD)

8 Favorite Restaurants...
1. Thundercloud Subs
2. The Melting Pot
3. Texadelphia
4. Benihana
5. Pei Wei
6. Donn's Texas BBQ
7. Moonshine
8. Vinny's

8 things that happened yesterday...
1. Took Maya to preschool & picked her up
2. Picked out a new double stroller (thanks, Mom & Dad!)
3. Went to Michael's (Yes, the craft store. I know!)
4. Ate at Texadelphia
5. Made favor bags with Maya for her party next week
6. Made salmon for dinner
7. Ate white chocolate raspberry Nothing Bundt Cake
8. Watched TV on the new couch - comfy!

8 things to look forward to...
1. The correct piece of my new couch being delivered (I hope!)
2. My baby shower on Thursday
3. General Conference this weekend
4. Maya's birthday & big party on Monday
5. Dad's birthday, which means more Nothing Bundt Cake!
6. A visit to Fiesta Texas in San Antonio
7. Baby Simon being born
8. Halloween

8 things I love about Fall...
1. Theoretically, cooler weather (so far - not so much...)
2. Sweaters! + all fall/winter clothing
3. Soccer
4. Halloween
5. Holiday shopping (& sales!)
6. Seeing photos of fall foliage (we don't have that here in Texas, sadly!)
7. Visiting the pumpkin patch
8. The start of "the holidays", including Maya's birthday, Halloween, my birthday, Chris' birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas...LOVE this time of year!

8 things on my wishlist...
1. Kids that aren't cranky
2. To only get up once to use the bathroom tonight.
3. My back not to ache
4. Baby Simon gets his head down
5. That I can schedule an induction soon, so I know what to expect - and that it will be pre-Halloween, so I don't miss the fun.
6. A clean house
7. That Simon won't be a screamer like his sister was
8. That I will ENJOY this baby as a newborn, instead of just getting through that stage.

8 people I tag*...
1. Mama
2. Holly O.
3. Holly D.
4. Hayley
5. Heather
6. Natalie L.
7. Jen H.
8. Tiburon
* only if you want to, of course. I won't be hurt. :)

And anyone else who wants to play...have at it!

One Month To Go...

The days are just flying by...and I'm slowing down. Have you noticed? Sorry to not be keeping up on things as much...posting...commenting. I am excelling at 2 things, in case you were wondering: 1) Stuffing my face. 2) Complaining about a) how much my back hurts and b) how tired I am. Fun, fun! Bet you wish I was posting more of that, right?

October promises to be a busy month! I've got a doctor's appointment tomorrow. I haven't been in 3 weeks, so I'm interested to hear the scoop. Has the baby turned his l'il head down? How does my Doctor feel about inducing? Early? Like how early? Oh, and let's not forget...how much weight have I gained? Ack!

Then my baby shower is Thursday night, woo hoo! I just love a party! This weekend we'll be watching General Conference, as well as Maya's soccer game (Did I mention she scored 3 goals last week?! Her Daddy promised her a scoop of ice cream for every goal, and boy did that motivate her! And, no surprise, she polished off all 3 scoops: Oreo, cookie dough, and mint chocolate chip! She's my girl!).

Next week it's Maya's birthday on Monday, which we'll be celebrating with real live pretend unicorn ponies in the back yard! Oh my my, I don't know why I do these things. Then it's my Dad's birthday a few days later, followed by a trip to Fiesta Texas next weekend - our last hurrah before the baby comes and cramps our style for a while! By then, we're just about mid-month...and our plans slow down considerably! I should find some things to occupy my time. Twiddling your thumbs waiting for a baby to come is pretty much no fun at all.

Anyway, that's the report from around here. Hopefully I can muster some excitement for you one of these days...like childbirth, perhaps. That's pretty exciting, right?

One month to go. But who's counting?

Diaper Bag?

I'm not much for carrying a "real" diaper bag - I usually just stuff it all into my gigantic purse. But wouldn't this l'il elephant bag from Odd Little Forest be a fun alternative diaper bag for a Mama of a baby boy? Too cute!

They have a great selection of bags that you should definitely check out. Here are a few favorites...

A Little Birdie Told Me...

I'm loving these optimistic + adorable prints from Valentina Design. I wish she made them as greeting cards - I'd be all over that! Because who wouldn't want to get a "Something Good Is Going To Happen" or "Everybody Agrees You Are The Best" card?! I sure would. Especially if a cute l'il birdie is delivering the news...

See more here.

{Via Design Crush.}

Wrap It Up

One of the great things about delivering a baby in late October is that you have the winter months to recover. You know, the months where you can hide the goo under some big ol' comfy sweaters! With that in mind, I've been scouring websites, ready to splurge on the perfect recovery sweater. Anthropologie? Lots of pretty options, but nothing that warranted that big of a splurge (for me). J Crew? Banana Republic? Not what exactly what I had in mind. So much for splurging!

Then today, I was wandering through JC Penney and came across just what I was looking for! As a bona fide Target-aholic, it shouldn't surprise me that you don't always have to splurge to get just the right thing, but it did. I'm so excited to have this lovely item to slip into once I birth this babe...

Drool-Worthy

True story: I don't wear a wedding ring. I swore to Chris that most people don't...then I did an informal count at church one Sunday and realized that actually, most people do. It's not that I don't love my husband. (I love and adore him!) And it's not that I don't love my ring. (I think it's gorgeous!) And, in all fairness to me, Chris doesn't wear his either. We've both "outgrown" them, so to speak. Chris' is a braided design that can't be re-sized. Mine has been re-sized - after Mason was born. But by that point, it had been a while since I'd worn it...and it bugged me...so I quit wearing it. Now I'm back with swollen fingers, but maybe I'll give it a shot again after I have this baby. Although I'm rather certain that an un-showered, sweat-pants wearing, frazzled Mama toting 3 kids around isn't exactly turning any heads anyway. It's not like guys are checking for a ring, hope against hope that maybe this mess is on the market! :)

I tell you all this because I believe I may have found the motivation to wear a wedding ring again. While I do love love love my wedding ring, I think this ring is one that I couldn't be coaxed to take off. Like, ever. So my style. So lovely. I so want it. Tell my husband. Please?

So, do you wear a wedding ring? If so, is it your original engagement ring? Or an "upgrade"? Or a band? Or not at all, like me?

Added to the Rotation: Another Pillow!

I'm up to 4 pillows now - one for my head, one for the right side, another for the left side and now, one for between my knees. Quite the little nest, I must say! Soon, there will be no room for Chris in the bed. (Sorry, baby!) :)

So I'm wondering - do any of you have one of these? I'm thinking a pregnancy pillow looks like a dream come true, but before I spring for one, I was hoping for some input. Good, bad, ridiculous? Worth the money? Let me know your thoughts...

Obsess Much?

I think I've admitted before that I love love love toys. Love 'em! I would buy my kids every toy in the toy department if I had the means and even less common sense than I already do. The kids are both currently in toy phases. For Maya, it's Littlest Pet Shop. For Mason, it's Disney Cars. I love both of these, because they come in little, inexpensive sets that I can buy and use as rewards, bribes or just-for-funs.

Oh, and I just happen to have a thing for the Disney Cars myself. It's so hard for me to not toss each and every cute little car into my cart at Target. I want them all! {You know, for Mason, of course...} He doesn't have an obscene number of them...yet. But we're accumulating. And I'm obsessing over them. Keeping them straight, who's missing, etc. And there's a lot going on here - these merchandising people have it down to a science! Take Lightning McQueen, for example. We haven't even begun to scratch the surface when it comes to Lightning McQueen. So far we have Big Lightning McQueen (Who is actually rather small/medium compared to some of the Lightning McQueen's out there, but so far, he's our biggest.), "Regular" Lightning McQueen, Dinoco Lightning McQueen, Little Lightning McQueen and Firefighter Lightning McQueen. We also have "Regular" Flo & Ramone and Firefighter Flo & Ramone. Big 'Mater and Firefighter Mater. Plus, you know, a bunch of the others.

And it has become my job in life to obsess over the cars. Big Lightning McQueen and Bob Cutlass have been missing for over a week. I've had my flashlight out, laying awkwardly on my big ol' belly, scooting around all over the place looking for them. Does Mason care? No. Not one bit. He pulls out the cars and I'm immediately the accountant. Where is Sally? How about Darrell Cartrip? They should be here! It's a sickness.

And once I can get past which cars are absent, my next move it to take over the racetrack. We already know that Firefighter Lightning McQueen is the fastest. But I'm setting them up in heats. Making sure everyone gets to race on both tracks, because I swear, I swear that the right track is slower. And I pit winners against losers over and over to make sure we're getting a legitimate result in these oh-so-important races. It really makes for good times for my 2 year old son, let me tell you.

I'm not really sure what has happened to me. I used to be a rather intelligent person, just so you know. But hey, at least I've found my calling, playing-wise. Building with blocks? Eh. Board games? If we have to. Brushing ponies? For a few minutes.

But set up a race track, and I'm totally in. Speed?! I am speed!

Great Minds

Friday night I was amused, as I was pulling out of the Panda Express parking lot with our take-out, to see my parents pulling in. Sure enough, they were in the mood for Beijing Beef and Orange Chicken, too. That seems to happen a lot. I'll say to Chris, "I really want to eat {fill in the blanks}" and my Mom will call 5 minutes later and say, "What are you guys doing for dinner? We were thinking about {same spot}.". We're on the same wavelength, food-wise (and otherwise...).

Then Sunday morning, I sent Mason to get his church clothes and he came back with his church pants...and his Team Mason shirt. It was quite a tragedy when I informed him that he wouldn't be wearing his Team Mason shirt to church. He calmed down when I promised him he could wear it after church - and that Daddy would wear his, too.

So after his nap, first thing, Mason brought me his Team Mason shirt, ready to change. And he made sure Daddy changed, too. And when Maya came in wearing hers, too (with a pink floral skirt, ooh lala!), I figured I'd better wear mine, as well. So we headed over to my parents for Sunday dinner and all burst out laughing when my Dad answered the door wearing...guess what...his Team Mason shirt! And then we about died to walk into the kitchen to see my Mom wearing hers, too. It really was too funny, since I don't think any of us has worn those shirts since the Mason reunion in June. Ah, great minds think alike!

Okay, maybe you had to be there to get the hilariousness of the whole thing. Not so funny for the rest of you? Sorry about that.

Cool story, Natalie.

Chocolate Cream Pie, Baby!

My friend Stacie is a fantastic cook and an incredible baker - and super generous in sharing her talents, I might add! We get treats and dinners from her waaaay more often that we deserve, but we are not complaining! A couple of weeks ago, she made the most ridiculously delicious chocolate cream pie for us. Like, I almost passed out when I tasted it, it's that good. And I know I might be slightly more enthusiastic about treats (and food in general) than some people, but I can pretty much guarantee that everyone would love this delicious pie. So I asked for the recipe. And guess what - I actually made it! And while it didn't turn out as delicious as Stacie's, it was still insanely good and not too difficult, even for me! And now...the recipe:

Stacie's Cream Pie

5 tbsp. cornstarch
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
Mix

Add
2 1/2 c. milk (whole, preferrably)
3/4 c. half & half
Whisk very well with dry ingredients.
Microwave in 5 minute intervals, stirring every 5 minutes, until mixture thickens - 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile
Beat 2 eggs

When mixture is thickened, add small amounts of hot mixture to eggs and stir, repeating until the eggs are up to temperature - then add eggs to mixture.

Microwave for 5-6 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes until thick.

Stir in
2 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
and ONE of the following:
2/3 c. chocolate chips (I used 1/3 milk, 1/3 semi) for Chocolate Cream Pie
or
1 1/2 c. coconut for Coconut Cream Pie
or
1 1/2 c. sliced bananas for Banana Cream Pie

Pour into a graham cracker crust and let cool. Top with whipped cream before serving.

Oh, baby baby. Yum yum yum!

Rice, Rice, Baby!

A week or 2 ago, the pregnancy aches and pains reared their ugly head. As I lay on my nest of pillows moaning to my poor husband about how my baaaaack huuuuurts, I suddenly remembered a tip from the genuis Marta: fill a tube sock with rice, microwave, and presto! Instant relief. And I happened to have a package of brand-new tube socks (leftovers from when we made tube sock snakes in preschool last year) and I always have rice. Voila! It really is the best invention ever.

My li'l friend Snakie is with me much of the time these days. And my favorite time of the day is nightly, when I ask Chris to microwave Snakie before bed. Because it irritates the heck out of him. Because he thinks it stinks (there is a bit of a rice odor, I'm not going to lie...). And I don't think he believes in Snakie's powers (why would anyone doubt?!). But he does it anyway. But always with the requisite eyeroll and scowl. "Stupid snake..." And it makes me laugh.

And laughter is the best medicine, right?

Taking Care of Business: The Weekend Wrap-Up

After having a bit of a cranky week (yours truly leading the pack...) because Daddy was gone all week, we were happy to have Friday night to spend with Chris. The kids were climbing him like a tree, clamoring for some Daddy-time. He whipped up some dinner for them, while I took some "serenity now" time and took a drive down to Panda Express to pick up some orange chicken and Beijing beef for Chris & I...mmm MMM! We had a little more play time, then got those monkeys into bed. Then we spent the evening yacking and watching some football.

Saturday morning, Chris left the house at 3:30 am to meet up with a group from our church, and hit the road for the four-hour drive down to the Texas coast to help out with Hurricane Ike clean-up. By the time the rest of the house woke up, he was hauling branches and logs...and kept at it all day long!

Meanwhile, back at home, we had a slow morning - playing, watching some TV. Then I discovered that Maya had only 1 of last year's soccer socks, so we hurried up a bit and hit the soccer store for new socks on our way to Maya's soccer game of the season. And what a difference a year makes! Last year, Maya was rather disinterested with the whole soccer thing. In fact, her favorite part was the half-time and end of game snacks (I've taught her everything I know about sports, it seems.) This year, though, she was getting in there and getting after it! I was so proud of her! She had a good time, and kept the sighing and eye-rolling to a minimum. Which is a miracle. Especially this week.

After that, we decided to hit up Shady Grove for lunch. Which was a terrible decision. I have to remind myself that if the weather is nice enough for me to want to eat in that lovely grove of trees, everyone else will feel the same way. We waited forEVER. And it was hard to enjoy it with Mason tired and fussing (Saturday was one of his roughest days ever - he's usually so amiable, but he was just a crankpot all day long.) and the fact that we needed to get home and get Maya ready for a birthday party.

At last we finished up our burgers and fries and hurried home. Maya transformed herself quickly into a princess while I tracked down a gift bag, card and the party invitation and we somehow made it to the princess birthday party on time. Back home, Mason had a snooze and truth be told, I conked out on the couch.

After we picked up Maya from the birthday party, we had just a few minutes to get ready for the baptism of a friends' little boy. I don't know what I was thinfking taking the kids by myself - it was a wrestling and fussing match from start to finish and I was beyond annoyed by the time it was over. I ran those little turkeys home, fed them a hot dog and got them into bed. Then I ordered myself a pizza :) and watched The Wedding Date on TV (not bad for a romantic comedy, I'd say...). Chris got back MUCH sooner than I'd anticipated (9:30ish) so we had some time to hang out. And by that I mean Chris got an earful of my gripes and complaints about his wild maniac children and my aches and pains (I'm almost up to 35 weeks!).

Sunday morning was another nice, taking it easy morning. Maya was nervous and fussy about giving a talk in Primary at church, but we made it through. Church was great. Maya did a lovely job on her talk. And we came home afterward and played games all afternoon while Mason slept. Good times! Off to dinner at my parents - breakfast for dinner, yum! Then back home for early bedtime.

I am hoping to not be such a cranky mother this week. I hate it when Chris is out of town. Luckily, he's here for the long haul now - to the birth of the baby and beyond. Hooray! I'm also hoping my furniture will actually be delivered this week. Tomorrow, to be exact. And that if it, for any reason, isn't delivered as planned, that I will be able to deal with the situation without having a complete and total meltdown. Oh, last week was NOT a good week! I'm looking forward to getting a prenatal massage on Wednesday, ooh BABY! The dentist appointment right afterward? Not so much. But overall, it's looking like it's going to be a great week.

Hope yours is great, too!

Ruffle Apron

A white mother/daughter ruffle apron set is probably the most illogical purchase I could possibly make. But that's not stopping me from wanting them...so cute!

Lots of other colors available here.

{Via Your Heart Out.}

Candy Necklaces

How cute is this?? If this activity {from Speckled Egg} didn't involve the use of needles, we'd totally be doing it at Maya's birthday party. Although, I suppose we could use those huge, plastic, practically harmless needles...hmm. Lots o' pink and purple gummies...might be just perfect. We shall see.

Find out how here.

{Via the Crafty Crow.}

Bedtime Story Baby Shower

I've had baby showers on the brain today, since the invite to my baby shower arrived in my inbox today! {Shout out and a HUGE thank-you to several of my amazing friends for hosting!} Of course, the expert on amazing showers has to be the Hostess With the Mostess herself. I especially adore this "Bedtime Story" theme. The tables are made up to look like beds, and they suggest serving cookies and milk. How cute is that?

Check out all of the clever shower themes here and a ton of different party ideas here.

Oh, Geof!

I've posted before about my love for Ace of Cakes' hilarious Geof. Well, turns out, I'm not alone - everybody loves Geof! So much so that the Baltimore Sun dedicated an entire article to Geof-love. Hilarious! The ladies love him! And rightfully so...

Thanks, Mama, for the link.

Multi-Tasking: A Genetic Quality of Women, Young & Old

Today I walked into the kitchen to find Maya "playing Mom", she told me. There she was stirring "dinner" on the stove, holding her baby and dusting the cabinets. Of course, I burst out laughing, but she just rolled her eyes at me. "I'm SO busy. I'm a Mom!"

Well, at least she appreciates that I'm busy. And hooray that she's already such an adept multi-tasker. But I'm still confused about where she learned how to dust...

Love Birds

I'm drooling over the Love Birds bag from Noah Handbags. Love the design. Adore the color. It's just all so pretty...

Twirly Skirts

Ooh, I'm so loving the Twirly Skirts from Just Be. They have me once again lamenting that I just don't fit into little girls' sizes anymore! Lucky me, I do have a daughter to dress...

$36 each in lots o' cute patterns. Here.

Just The Thing...

I'm still using the ghetto green particle-board nightstand that came with our first bedroom set, purchased a hundred years ago. And Chris? He's using the ghetto white particle board nightstand that I bought when I was a freshman in college. Someday, we hope to have a "real" bed. And an actual dresser. And nightstands made of real wood. Like this one, spotted today at Pier One. Just my style! And pretty enough that I might just keep them cleared of clutter and dust. Might.

They're on my wish list...

The Snack All Day Diet

With just over 6 weeks left in this pregnancy, I'm already thinking about how I'm going to get off all these pounds I've been packing on. I keep reminding myself that I won't be this hungry all the time (right?!), for one thing. But I've never been much of a dieter. And my eating habits have been pretty terrible this pregnancy (can you say free for all?). And I have very little self control. So I'm going to need a little assistance, I think.

So I'm intrigued by the Snack All Day Diet, a plan that has you eating every 2 hours from 8am to 8pm. Now that sounds like something I could do! They give you lots of ideas for each meal/snack period, and there's even something that sounds do-able in each time frame. You can read about it here or download the sample menu here. I will be hanging on to this idea and giving it a whirl here someday...

{I don't actually weigh myself or even keep a scale in my house - that's just torture! But if I did, I think the one above would be a good one - show me some love before you give me the bad news!}

Some People Are So Clever!

Over at Sycamore Stirrings, every Monday is Muffin Tin Monday. Which is a clever and fun way to feed your kids lunch - and I'll probably never participate, because I'm downright lazy. However, I love checking out the creations - especially this week, where all the muffin tins were based on children's books. Seriously, these are some clever muffin tins from clever Mamas!

Check them out here.

Did You Know...

...that you can buy blank sets of nesting dolls? And paint them up yourself? Oooh, I so love this idea! Wouldn't it be fun to do a new set every year, say at Christmas or New Year's or a birthday, or whatever. You can find all sorts of sets here, and they're such a bargain! What a fun family activity!

{Via the Crafty Crow.}

Note To Self:

This is how to do an amazing candy or dessert buffet.

You must click over and look at the other displays in the Amy Atlas Events portfolio. They're all amazing, but I particularly love the Halloween spread.

{Via Oh Happy Day. Again.}

Ittikid Onesies

I'd love to pick up a couple of these unique onesies from the Scandinavian company Ittikid for Baby Simon. It's so hard to find cute things for baby boys - but these are adorable and just different enough...

Find them here.

{Via Oh Happy Day.}

What I've Been Doing Instead of Blogging...

My blog has been neglected lately. Like, a lot. I have millions of things I want to blog about...I just keep getting sidetracked. So here's what I've been doing instead...

Over the weekend...

• Devouring Pizookies at BJ's.
• Staying up way too late watching football.
• Chit chatting at a baby shower.
• Buying Maya new running shoes.
• Making caramel popcorn (recipe to be blogged...someday).
• Eating bowling alley fries and watching the family rock 'n roll on the lanes.
• Enjoying a HUGE chocolate dipped cone from the DQ.
• Hanging out with the fam'.
• Worrying about Chris' Mom, who now also has MRSA. (Arrgh!)
• Church, church, church.

Today...

• Buying new car seats for Mason + Baby Simon. Excuse me, Mason's is a BOOSTER (you know, the harness/booster combo). If I call it a car seat one more time, he will likely melt down.
• Making Maya's birthday party invitations. (They turned out hideous, in my opinion. That's what happens when you combine zero unicorn resources with zero creativity. Yuck. Oh well - I'm sending them anyway.)
• Tackling the weekend dishes.
• Napping. (Of course.)
• Pulling teeth! Maya's 2nd tooth is now out. And she's guarding this one with her life, after she lost her lost tooth last time.
  

So, maybe tomorrow...blogging? With any luck. Oh, and a trip to Pier One. My new couch is being delivered tomorrow - and I need to have the accessories ready to go! Yee haw!

{Post script - before I even hit publish, Maya hollered "Mom, can you come look for my tooth in the carpet?" Are you kidding me?}

Being Babies + A Peek At the Rocket Bedding

After Simon's rocket ship bedding arrived the other day, the kids decided it was time to climb in the crib (along with ALL their stuff) and be babies. Such silly kiddos. On a side note, I'm super happy with the bedding (which, I know, you can barely see...)! The quality and cuteness for the price is quite a bargain. Hooray!

Campfire S'More Cream Puffs

Much like the previous post almost makes me want to go to the gym, this one almost makes me want to go camping. Hellooooo, Campfire Cream Puffs:

Ingredients

1 can of frozen biscuit dough (such as Pillsbury Grands)
8 large marshmallows
8 milk chocolate squares
Cinnamon and sugar to taste
2 10-inch by 10-inch squares of aluminum foil

Directions
Makes 8 cream puffs.

1. Sprinkle a plate with a dusting of cinnamon and sugar.
2. To make each cream puff, open the biscuit roll and pull off one biscuit. Open it up and stuff a marshmallow and one chocolate square inside. Close the biscuit so you can't see the marshmallow. Roll the biscuit dough in the cinnamon and sugar.
3. On each square of aluminum foil, place four of the stuffed biscuits; bring the sides of the foil around the biscuits, leaving a small space for ventilation.
4. Place the foil packets over the campfire for about 10 minutes, until dough is golden brown and marshmallow is melted.

Oooh, baby!

Recipe from YumSugar, via Design Crush.

Almost Makes Me Want To Hit The Gym...Almost

Yes, ma'am! I can almost see myself toting my workout gear to the gym in this adorable pink Nike gym bag. Too cute! But we all know that's just never going to happen, right?? Perhaps I could just use it as a diaper bag...

Keeping In The Sunlight

"Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight."
~ Benjamin Franklin

I swear that with each child born, a Mama's capacity to worry increases ten-fold. At least, that's how it works with me. I worry more about my kids than I ever thought possible. Today, for example. Maya didn't want to go to school. She was worried (Wonder where she gets that from?) because they were going to chapel for the first time (it's a church-run preschool - not our church...). I told her there was nothing to worry about, it was no big deal, that it would be interesting and fun, but she's a worrier. She'll go, she'll see that it's fine and hopefully next week, she won't be worried about this.

But now I'll be worried. All day. That she's sad. Or she's scared. I'll wonder why, instead of being a compassionate mother, that I get annoyed when the waterworks start. That instead of telling her that she'll be okay, my first reaction is to tell her to knock it off. I guess I'm still learning. I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again...being a parent is harder than it looks!

So we'll try to keep in the sunlight today. Thank goodness I have my Mason to keep me company. A little while ago, he sneezed. Then he looked up: "I need a 'bless you!'". Ah, my kids are teaching me all about how to be a good parent. All day long.

My Kind Of Nest...

Ooh, how lovely are these floral sculpted nesting bowls? So very pretty, no? $30 for the set from Zak Designs in red, yellow or pink.

This party girl needs 'em!

Tory For Fall

I just love these Tori Burch color combos for fall. In fact, I wouldn't know which to choose - navy + green or red + navy. Fortunately, the $295 price tag (for ballet flats?!) precludes me making any such decision. Instead, I'll be hunting for a suitable knockoff. But they are lovely.

The People Want To Know...

...where the couch is from.

Rooms to Go. Here it is in taupe, in the configuration we purchased. But ours will be chocolate, baby. Because I like chocolate. Did you know?

Breakfast On The Go...

I liked this breakfast idea that I saw in a magazine: toast a whole-wheat hot dog bun, top with peanut butter and a banana. Quick, simple and pretty well rounded. I like it! I'll be giving this a shot.

All Packed Up, No Place To Go...

Okay, so we're not packed up. Please, it's not the last minute yet! But we've decided to postpone our trip to Portland again. The original plan was to go a few weeks ago, but we were flying stand-by and the flights just got too full to risk it with 4 of us traveling. So we were set to go Thursday...on purchased tickets, this time...and now Chris' poor Dad is dealing with MRSA (confirmed)...and has been advised not to be around a lot of people. So we're "postponing". Until when? That's the thing. I'm getting to be rather pregnant. And our upcoming weekends are pretty packed. And soon it will be too late. And I don't travel with little babies. So...probably until early next year sometime. What a bummer. Portland in the fall is amazing.

And instead of laying low this weekend, we'll be jumping right into all of the things we were skipping to be out of town. Maya will play her first soccer game of the season! There's a baby shower for one of my buddies. And a good friend's son is being baptized. And I believe Chris mentioned a few meeting he needs to be at. Ah, life never stops.

So I believe that means we're officially grounded until after the babe is born. Which is okay. The ground is a good place for me to be! I need gravity to do its work...the doctor informed me today that Simon isn't "in position" yet. That boy needs to get himself head down here quickly. If he doesn't do it on his own in the next 3 weeks, the doctor will perform "the procedure" to try and get him that way. My, my, that sounds fun, doesn't it? (Actually, I've heard it's "not that bad", but still...)

Hap Hap Happy Tuesday!

Rocket Decal

Big thank-you to Cindy, who pointed me in the direction of this rocket ship decal - a perfect match to Baby Simon's crib bedding! I'm thinking that several of them in a few different colors & sizes might be just the thing.

But. I've never used vinyl wall art before. I know, I'm so behind the times. But I recall someone saying that it doesn't work with textured walls...? Can that be correct? Because I know so many people who use vinyl wall art and don't most of us have textured walls? Fill me in, someone...

Retro Rockets

I bought this crib bedding for Baby Simon this weekend, for so cheap that I almost feel like I stole it. In fact, I'm rather embarrassed about how cheap it was. Thing is, I was willing to spend some cashola. But I really super like it - I think it's adorable.

And while we're talking frugal baby items, don't you think this Ikea dresser and wardrobe might be just the thing to complete the room? I think they'd be great with the retro rocket look, no? And the price is right! Maybe...

Now, all my decorating guru friends, how else to complete the room? Any inexpensive decor ideas?

Impulse Buy?

"Women be shoppin'" is my motto. Everyone knows that, right? (And thank you, Nutty Professor for bringing that motto to me many years ago...) The only things I don't enjoy shopping for? Furniture and cars. Hate, hate, hate. But we've been needing a new couch. And talk talk talking about getting a new couch. For a while now. So I've been browsing the ads. And Friday night, out on a rare date, Chris and I decided to poke our heads into a furniture store. And I sat down on this couch:

...and I was sold. So comfy! So minimal! Room for all of us! Even so, I forced Chris to look at and sit on every other couch in the store, but when it came down to it, I was ready to buy. So we did. This couch in chocolate brown with stain protection. And the matching ottoman. And it will be here next week! Hooray!

I'm thinking that some combination of these pillows will be just the thing to tie the room together. We might have to repaint. And by "have to" I mean, we might have to talk about how we need to repaint. Will we ever actually repaint? Remains, to be seen, of course.

But hey, I never thought we'd actually buy a new couch...

Little Bit O' This, And Not Too Much Else: The Weekend Wrap-up

Friday afternoon Chris informed me that he'd asked my parents to babysit so he could take me out on a date! How's about that?! Thank goodness for a little bit o' notice, I showered up and tried to look presentable for my hot date. We decided to try out a new little restaurant/coffee shop I'd been eyeballing for a while, but we were too late...they'd already closed up shop. Such a bummer! So we ended up next door at Doc's Backyard where I ate a salad (! - I know!) and some flautas and Chris had fajitas. Next up, we decided to pop into a furniture store, because our couches are in SAD shape and we've been talking about getting something new forever. And guess what? We found something! And we bought it! Just like that. That's my style of furniture shopping, for sure. (Full details about the couch coming tomorrow...) We headed home and chatted with my parents for a bit. Later that night, Chris got a call from his Dad, who has been sick with a mystery illness, now probably diagnosed as an MRSA infection. Which, click the link, is scary! We spent the evening doing more research and worrying. Yikes. We are hoping that he will get better quickly.

Saturday morning. We all slept in until 9am! That is a record. Maya was gung ho to go swimming, so Chris was kind enough to take them while I worked on my nursery lesson and other projects, while avoiding being seen in a swim suit in my "condition". (Didn't want to scare anyone. Or cause a tidal wave.) They got home and we had picnic lunch on the living room floor and watched football. Then Mason and I took our Saturday naps while Maya and Chris did some yardwork.

Mason got up and we set about clearing out the office somewhat, since it will become Baby Simon's room in a couple of months. The loaner guest bed was taken down and returned to my parents and we got the crib in place. Now I have to tackle bins and bins of baby clothes/blankets/burp cloths and figure out what to do with them! After dropping the bed off to my parents, we all went to Galaxy Cafe for dinner, where, much to my chagrin, they no longer offer the delicious artichoke chicken dinner that I so love and was craving. Although my jerk pork was okay, it just didn't hit the spot. The giant cookie afterwards certainly did, though! Back home, kids in the tub and into bed. Chris and I spent the evening watching football (Go Utes! Hook 'em Horns!) and Chris chatted some more with his parents. I stayed awake as long as I could to watch the Longhorns, but finally gave up around midnight. Chris, the trooper, was in it for the long haul...

And yet, he still let ME sleep in on Sunday morning! (Sorry, ladies, he's taken!) We busied ourselves with this and that and then it was off to church. The afternoon was spent chatting some more with Chris' parents (worry worry worry) and each other, then off to my parents for burgers 'n dogs for dinner. Home again, home again, for the usual routine - kids in tubs, kids in bed - and the new routine - making Maya's lunch (can't get up in time to do it in the morning), getting her school stuff ready, writing her little notes for her backpack, etc. And now...off to bed!

This week I've GOT to get my hair cut. I've got brunch with friends. A doctor's appointment (Oh, the dreaded weigh-in...just don't tell me!) And maybe a trip to Portland to see Chris' parents? We were scheduled to leave on Thursday, but given the news of a highly contagious illness and the presence of a 2 year old, a 4 year old and a pregnant lady, we're not quite sure. If we're here instead, then we'll also add Maya's first soccer game of the season, a baby shower and a baptism to the schedule. Ah, fun times.

Happy new week to you!

Silhouette Cookie Cutters? Are You Kidding Me?

Shout out to Erin from Two More Seconds who sent me over to Abbey at Abbey Goes Design Scouting who sent me over to the Victor Trading Co., where they will design a custom cookie cutter for you from your photo. Send over a profile photo and there you go - silhouette cookies! Oh, I'm in love, I'm in love.

Cool, right?

Cupcake Dress

I'm SO ready to splurge on the Cupcake Dress for Maya. And the matching tights, of course. Okay, so I probably won't. But how cute would she look in this ruffly thing? I want it in my size, too!