I'm back!

I'm back from a fabulous weekend in St. Petersburg visiting my family and friends and attending my first baby shower! It was a blast and gave me the opportunity to hang out with some of my favorites! I promise to post pics of the shower and the week but first I wanted to recognize some of the wonderful women who helped calm this preggo down while I was home :).

My girlfriends are so wonderful and supportive, they give such love and gently push me to be all that I can be. I honestly don't know where I'd be without them! They are all so different and yet each of them fulfill me in ways that truly lift my spirits. This past week, they hugged me, loved me, pushed me, coddled me, and of course teased me! It was just what the Doctor ordered! Thank you for reminding me of the woman that I am ! 

I love you ladies. 

"After all, things change, so do cities, people come into your life and they go. But it's comforting to know that the ones you love are always in your heart.... and if your very lucky, a plane ride away...." 

- Sex & the City 

I'm alive I swear!

Hi All!

Quick post to let you know that I am in fact alive!!! I'm in St. Pete, FL for the week visiting friends and family and attending my first Baby Shower. Promise I'll post more tidbits on Sunday!

Hope your all having a GREAT weekend!

Dear Husband....

Dear Husband (whose left his pregnant wife for two weeks)....

We are going on a date this Friday. Please pick a restaurant, I've picked the movie :).

(Ok so I'm being dramatic when I say he left me alone, I mean, he did, but he's been working, regardless----- I need some QT with the hubby people and it's my pregnancy and I'll whine if I want to! (jk!)

A tour of our current abode......

So, before vacating this wonderful home. I thought I'd share a few pics of where T and I lay our head. We are truly in love with our home and are going to miss it terribly! We can walk to local restaurants and take our scooter to downtown events, plus in my humble opinion, the home is pretty darn tootin' cute too! :) Here are a few pics.....

mi casa 

living room

dining room

kitchen

Where i drink my morning java (and check out what the neighbors are up to, jk :))

guest bedroom

bathroom 1

bathroom 2 

Feeling VERY loved this afternoon....

If your anything like me, then sometimes you have a day where you just feel like no one understands, you feel alone, and as moronic as it sounds you just feel unloved. Those are the days where you don't want to leave the house, you call your best friend or husband and boo-hoo on the phone to get it all out. It's tough and unfortunately when your pregnant, those days tend to happen a LOT more than usual.... especially when your by yourself as much as I've been lately.

So, I feel like it's very important to recognize when you have an out of this world day. When you have a day so special that it just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Today was that kinda day for me. And here's why..... 

It had all the makings of a bad day. I haven't slept in days (thank you migraines, heartburn, and the knowledge of recent burglaries in my neighborhood), Tyler's been gone for going on two weeks, and on top of it all I'm doing what most women do and worrying about things I cannot control.

So there I am,  I'm drinking my morning coffee (decaf!) fretting over finding a new OBGYN in San Antonio when low and behold I sign onto facebook and have a gazillion suggestions from friends! Yay! Not only that but I see that my voice mail is blinking missed call and listen to a message from my Aunt Francie (well, technically she's my Godmother, but I call her Aunt) who tells me she has a friend in San Antonio whose daughter is pregnant and she's got a GREAT OBGYN and here are all the details..... score! 

Then later on in the day I go to grab the mail and unexpectedly find a box in the mail from my Aunt Sarita. I open it up and my jaw drops, it's a Lilly dress ( I loooooove Lilly!!!!) with a note, " For your shower...." And even better- it fits! 

Then, as if my day could not get any better, a special delivery from the UPS comes and low and behold the plates that I had been lusting over at Anthropologie, special delivery from a dear, dear, Deneault family friend who keeps up on my blog and saw that I'd been drooling! 

WOW! 

I cannot even describe how much these three women made my day! I literally have huge tears in my eyes right now because I am THAT touched that they would go out of there way to make me feel so special! Each of these gestures was just so unexpected! I promise you it couldn't have come at a better time and it's allllllmmmosst as good as being able to reach out and give you all a huge hug! 

So as I mentioned in the title of this post, I'm feeling VERY loved this afternoon. Thank you for making my day a bit brighter!

I am one lucky girl :) 

In love......

Serena and Lily Sausalito Basket

Ok, so it's a bit absurd that the price tag on this puppy is about $250.00 bucks, but I gotta say.... I am in love. This is too cute for words!  

I'm back!

Yikes! Forgive me for my unexplained absence! I did have a post explaining where I had gone, but then hubby gently reminded me that my blog is "public," and therefore anyone out there in the blogosphere could read it, therefore my post stating " Gone to San Antonio," to look for homes. Could in fact be taken as an open invitation to come on over while no one's home. Hah! Oops. So I quickly deleted my entry and then life kinda got crazy!

So, as I mentioned I flew down to San Antonio to meet hubby and to start our home search. Wow, what a whirlwind. We had a little hiccup with the realtor and the first two days left me feeling very uptight and nervous about where we would end up in San Antonio- visions of a temporary apartment and a new baby were dancing through my head (AGH!) But after debriefing and clearly defining our needs and wants we were back on track and looking at homes.

I should mention that San Antonio is HUGE and offers a plethora of housing. the issue we ran into is that Tyler and I are city snobs. As I've mentioned before we love the downtown living. I'm not talking about the high-rise kind of living, I mean the adorable, older, bungalow living that usually resides right outside the heart of a downtown area. The issue....San Antonio has it, BUT the area is really small and so it's slim picking when it comes to availability. The homes we found were either at the tip top of our price range, too small, and still needed a bit of updating OR they were reasonably priced, a pretty good size, BUT needed a boat load of work. we had to make a choice.....

The square footage issue scared me as I envisioned all the baby gear I would suddenly be acquiring over the next few months. I hate clutter and all I could imagine was overfilled closets and things stuffed in weird places. BUT as much as Tyler and I enjoy a good renovation, I kept thinking about how different our lives would be with the addition of Baby Ford.... What to do, what to do.....

Ultimately, our love of the city and our need for a sizable house won and we found a house that needs some renovation, but is much larger then the ones at the tip top of our price range. The good news is this house needs the basic kind of renovations, nothing too, too scary.....

1. New floor in kitchen, master bath, and porch
2. New paint through out
3. Crown-molding needs to be replaced
4. New appliances in kitchen
5. New awning needed on the exterior
6. New driveway (eventually)
7. Landscaping needs help
8. A few other odds and ends

So, yes, it's definitely not a small list, BUT nothing that we haven't done before, so nothing that makes us run screaming for the hills.

That said, this decision means that Ford's room may or may not be ready in time for his arrival. Which sends shivers down this control freak's spine, BUT I just need to envision the end result A GREAT house, that looks just like me, right in the heart of the action! Now just pray that the seller wants to agree on all of our terms!

Ok readers, here's where you come in.... your going to have to periodically remind me to breathe over the next two months.....It's going to be a roller coaster !! But hey, I guess that's really not new for Tyler and I....As I look back at our relationship and all we've gone through and accomplished- I've gotta say, it's always a bit of a roller coaster around here! Thank goodness I've got a great partner!

Yikes, so there's my brain dump update! Hope you all are having a great Monday and I promise I'll be updating the blog periodically this week! 

Winner, winner, chicken dinner..... (ok yes, that was nerdy)

And the winner of my 50th Blog Post Giveaway is......

Congrats Debbie! Email me and let me know the color thread you'd like!!

Don't forget about my giveaway!

Don't forget if you sign up to follow my blog by 5 PM (my time), you will be entered to win eight white monogrammed napkins! Hurry! 

P.S If you have a blog and you mention my giveaway on your blog (leave me a comment letting me know) and I just might enter your name twice in the contest :

99 Days to go.....

HOLY.... (insert expletive here)...!?!?!?!?!?!?! I just looked at my little baby tracker on the right hand side of this blog and Tyler and I are officially in the double digit countdown!!!! AGH! Where the heck has the time gone? Holy smokes, it has flown by!

I'm in my third trimester and in 99 days (roughly) I'm going to be a Mommy..... INSANE! This realization just gets me thinking....There is so much to get accomplished before Baby Ford's arrival. Ya know normal stuff (said in sarcastic tone) like FINDING A HOME, SELLING A HOME, MOVING, MAKING A HOME......oh wait and getting ready for  a BABY!!!!!!!! (alright I will keep this freak out to a minimum.....) Please pray that we make it through the next 99 days and that all goes smoothly...... yikes!  

Inhale......exhale, it will all be alright.......

Let's talk baby clothes.....

Ok, so I am a bit unsure as to whether or not I should share this tidbit, as you'll probably think I am the worst BUT in an attempt to ALWAYS be absolutely honest on this blog, here goes..... I think I may be a baby clothes snob...... 

Call me the worst Mom ever, but I am so not into what I like to call- "ewwy, goeey" baby boy clothes.... I don't like animals all over the kids onesie and I don't like cute little sayings on the front like "Mom's little angel" or whatever.... I am kinda picky. That's not to say I don't like animals because I do, I'm just particular..... I'll give you a few examples.... 

In my opinion, Gymboree & Carter's are BIG culprits in the "ewwy, goeey" baby boy clothing department. That's not to say I'll never shop there because once in awhile I'm sure they'll be something I like but in general I tend to roll my eyes at the clothing combinations they come up with; hence the few photos below: 

The above is just not my style AT ALL. After LOTS of googling, I was beginning to think I was going to have to sew all my kids clothes or rely on Baby Polo or Etsy for the kinda "classic" stuff I was envisioning and then my sister in law filled me in on some GREAT kids clothing stores that are right up my alley. So in case all you other Mom's or soon to be Mom's are in the dark like me, here are a few of the sites she recommended. I AM IN LOVE! 

 C.W.D Kids

Rag's Land

The Best Dressed Child

Just Ducky

Kelly's Kids

Ok, I could go on forever, but you get the idea.... I'm really into "classic," clothes. Nothing against the "other" version of kids clothes, it's just not my style.... As my husband points out there's a fine line between classic boys clothing and "girly" clothing.... So I'm sure we'll be having many a debate over Ford's wardrobe, but for now, "this is what I' talking about :)." 

Have a great Sunday! 

50th Blog Post Giveaway!

Hard to believe, but I've already written 50 posts! Yikes! Thanks to all my readers who have encouraged me to "keep at it" with all your kind and thoughtful comments! That said, I encourage you to become a follower of my blog ad let me know your out there (I know you are according to my google stats :)). You can do this by clicking on the followers button on the bottom, right hand corner. That said, if you sign up by Monday, January 10th, 5PM to become a follower you will be entered to win eight custom monogrammed white napkins (with your choice of thread color)! Below, please find an example:

P.S If you have a blog and you mention my giveaway on your blog (leave me a comment letting me know) and I just might enter your name twice in the contest :)

Have a GREAT weekend! 

Currently lusting over....

Wow, I walked into Anthropologie today and about died... these plates are to die for! These pics just don't do them justice. They have about six others (ten total, all different) and would look awesome as our every day china. That said at twenty four bucks a pop AND the fact that I have perfectly good (and sensible) William-Sonoma everyday china, I walked away.... Yes honey, you read correctly- I walked away..... Argh! Darn "fiscal responsibility......" 

Drooling.....

Dinner Success!

Last night, I was absolutely craving Chinese..... but wasn't really in the move for take out.... (indecisive pregnant chick? YES!). So I googled chinese recipes and came up with this copy cat recipe of P.F. Chang's lettuce wraps over at food.com. I've got one word for you people- YUMMY!

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons oil

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 cup water chestnuts

2/3 cup mushrooms

3 tablespoons chopped onions

1 teaspoon minced garlic

4 -5 leaves iceberg lettuce

Special Sauce:

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon hot mustard

2 teaspoons water

1 -2 teaspoon garlic and red chile paste

Stir Fry Sauce:

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Directions:

-Make the special sauce by dissolving the sugar in water in a small bowl.

-Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil.

-Mix well and refrigerate this sauce until you're ready to serve.

-Combine the hot water with the hot mustard and set this aside as well.

-Eventually add your desired measurement of mustard and garlic chili sauce to the special sauce mixture to pour over the wraps.

-Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan.

-Saute chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes per side or done.

-Remove chicken from the pan and cool.

-Keep oil in the pan, keep hot.

-As chicken cools mince water chestnuts and mushrooms to about the size of small peas.

-Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.

-When chicken is cool, mince it as the mushrooms and water chestnuts are.

-With the pan still on high heat, add another Tbsp of vegetable oil.

-Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to the pan.

-Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a couple minutes then serve it in the lettuce"cups".

-Top with"Special Sauce".

Trust me, this recipe is DELISH! And most importantly, hubby loved it!!! 

 Your stomach will thank you! Enjoy! 

This picture just makes me wanna......

via Sweet Bef's Blog

So, truthfully, I'm so not into designs on nails, but this picture just makes me want to run out and get a manicure.... STAT. I'm kinda digging it!! :) 

Resolutions..... and all that jazz.....

Not to sound like Debbie Downer, but I really dislike New Year Resolutions. I dislike them because I typically consider myself a constant work in progress. I am constantly setting new goals for myself and/or aspiring to be better.....more this, or more that... To my husband's chagrin I am constantly coming up with ways to improve myself, our home, friendships,  our relationship, our life.....  Sometimes this works out.... and sometimes, to be completely honest..... this leaves me feeling like a bit of a failure. As my husband likes to say- I'm my worst critic.

So this year I've decided to stop.

2011 will bring BIG changes in our lives with the birth of our son Ford. That said, I am SURE that I will struggle and fall multiple times. I will NOT be the "World's Greatest Mom," and in fact, I'm sure at times I might even want to label myself the WORST Mom; but, that said I've decided to just "breathe" and stop aspiring for the unreachable. I resolve to take one day at a time and deal with situations on a case by case basis, instead of always trying to foresee the future. I resolve to be less critical of myself and "receive" the love of others. I resolve to eliminate the words, "Coulda, Shoulda Woulda...." from my vocabulary and I resolve to just live my (our) life and not  constantly compare it to others.

It won't be easy, but I am bound and determined to just "be" in 2011.

Wish me luck! 

Help a Girl Out....

Ok, so I think I've FINALLY finished my registry..... Not to be dramatic, but this darn thing has truly been a labor of love. I've cried, screamed, stood in front of the bottle aisle gaping at the amount of nipple choices, and almost thrown the computer against the wall... I'd have to say that this experience truly freaked me out. I had no idea how much " STUFF" a baby needs...... or more specifically how much stuff a store wants you to "believe" a baby needs! Thank god for sister in laws who have children; otherwise I would have scrapped the whole thing and decided to just wrap my baby up in saran- wrap, given him a popsicle to occupy himself and called it a day.... jk... sorta.

So.... all that said I'm asking all you Mama's out there to be nosey and PLEASE poke around my registry.... I'm not hinting that I want gifts or asking you to buy any of these wonderful items. I'm just sincerely asking for your advice. Is there a product on there that stinks? Is there an AWESOME product I'm missing? I'm the first of my girls to have a baby and therefore I need ALL the advice I can get :) So please, please, please take a look at the right side of my blog under "Baby Ford's Registry" and click away.... What do you think?

Please note that I purposely haven't registered for any of my nursery furniture yet since we're moving and call me crazy (my husband does) I just want to see the space before I order the furniture. So, we've got to find a house before I dive into that can of worms. Argh.

So please, please, please, help a girl out! Thanks!