The most wonderful time of the year!

I declared on Friday that I was working on Christmas decorations over the weekend - if it didn't get up, it wasn't going up! So in between cleaning & laundry, sleeping & eating, that is exactly what I did.

So now our house is mostly decorated for Christmas, inside & out. I moved a few things out of their "normal" spots this year and kept some of my more meaningful and breakable items stored away to keep my monkey away from them, but it's festive & merry and I'm in love.

How sweet are my boys?

Of course, between everything, I didn't have time to take many pictures ... but, I'll be back in the next week or two with a home tour :)

Happy Monday!

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Lately ...

Whew, it's been a whirlwind!

• I attended a craft fair over the weekend, and had lots of fun looking at the neat items. With that being said, I only purchased one handmade item - a sock cap for Cooper. My other buys were Pampered Chef and Scentsy.
• I totally got in trouble for buying the Pampered Chef! When I told hubby I purchased a can opener (we've been needing a new one and I like my mom's Pampered Chef) he groaned. Turns out, he was planning to buy me one as a stocking stuffer for Christmas. Luckily, he hadn't placed the order yet.
• So as of now, no buying anything for myself until mid February :)
• Speaking of Christmas, I finally finished the first tree - Cooper's :) It's red, blue and silver and has a penguin blanket as the skirt. So far, so good in terms of baby and the tree, but then again, he doesn't spend a lot of unsupervised time in his room, either.

• The diet started back up yesterday. So sweets were tossed.
• I'm also planning to do some working out and utilizing that treadmill ... now just to find the time!
• It was in the 60s and 70s all weekend and amazing! Unfortunately we were on the run and didn't have a lot of time to just enjoy.
• I'm about 80 percent done with my Christmas shopping!
• Highlights from Coop's well check last week:
• He is 21 lbs., 7 ounces - 30th percentile. Totally normal for a very active boy, she said.
• 29 inches, which has him right in the 50th percentile
• Right where he should be or a little ahead in terms of speech and movement.
• We had our family/Christmas photos taken yesterday. LOVE. I can't wait to share :)
• Hubby's work Christmas party was on Saturday, and among other things, I made spicy cayenne pretzels. They went over so well, so I thought I would share the recipe here:
• You need: One bag pretzels, oil, cayenne pepper and 1 packet ranch dressing mix.
• Pour the pretzels in a brown paper bag and coat with about 1/4 cup of oil. Add ranch dressing mix and about 1 T. cayenne pepper.
• Shake about every 15 minutes for an hour.
• Enjoy :) Of course if you like them more or less spicy, just adjust the amount of pepper.
• Someone decided he was King of the House over the weekend. Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough to snap a picture when he was standing on the boxes with the hairbrush in his hand like it was his sceptor.

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weekend wrap-up

Two posts in one day! And it was a fabulous weekend! Too bad the only photos I have to prove that are on hubby's phone, however!

On Friday, I decided to go ahead and take C to the sitter since we pay for it regardless, so I could concentrate on some house projects. He really loves being around other kids, so it works well. I was able to make up some plums and bananas for Cooper, finish up some laundry, shower, grocery shop and more without having to rush or be distracted. That night, hubs grilled so we spent some time outside and absolutely enjoyed it.

Saturday morning, hubby mowed one of our pastures while I worked more on laundry and the inside of the house. We had Mister's 7-month-pictures planned for 1:30, so that obviously cut our morning a little short. After pictures, we did a little bit of shopping and then stopped at my aunt & uncle's house on the way home for some pool time. They have a nice, in-ground pool and Cooper really enjoyed floating around in it. We'll definitely be returning :)

That night, hubs worked on our tractor, so I had C hang out with him outside while I really concentrated on some house cleaning. Little man just loves activity and was so content being in his exersaucer watching daddy work, so I took advantage! I got the master bedroom, bathroom, main bathroom and Cooper's room all clean!

Aldi had some amazing fruit sales last week, so I bought quite a few peaches, nectarines and avocado, so I whipped those up into baby food on Sunday. I also finished laundry and got all the cleaning done in the kitchen, dining room and living room. Whew! I figured at that point I really should go ahead and clean the spare bedroom, so the entire upstairs was done ... but then I got sidetracked by the closet and ended up organizing it and the hallway one.

It was such a great, productive weekend! I really am liking having Fridays off!

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weekend wrap-up

Back from another fabulous weekend. Gah, I LOVE summertime.

And super proud of myself for getting to work at 7:12 on the first day of summer hours. I'm lucky in that I don't have to "cover" my office so basically as long as I still get in my 10 hours, it's no big deal. And since I rarely take a full hour for lunch, it works out pretty good for me to work like 7:15-5:45 with a half hour lunch today :)

So ...

Friday night I had to come back to town in the early evening to meet with another college employee and a gentleman who wants to donate some computers to the school, if they will work. My boys decided to join us :) I had some talkers on my hands, too, so it took awhile.

After that, we headed to Wally World to pick up a few items.

That night, we lounged on the couch and watched TV. I didn't even do the dishes!

Saturday morning, hubby went out to bush hog one of our pastures. He did the other two last weekend :) Meanwhile, I stayed inside and worked on cleaning the kitchen {those dishes caught up with me!} and doing laundry.

That afternoon, we went to a joint graduation party for my cousins, Tyler & Blake. Well, my dad farms, so on the way, we stopped in the wheat field so Super Cooper could go on a ride in the combine.

Unfortunately, PaPa Sam was driving the crop to the elevator and unable to take Coop for his first ride. However, my cousin, Trent, was driving and took us for a spin. Coop loved it! Great pictures to come :)

Coop was a complete angel at the graduation party. He's been experiencing a bit of separation anxiety lately, so I was pleased that he did so well being passed around. My cousin and his wife are expecting, and she did a great job with him, even walking him around until he fell asleep for a nap! Everyone commented on how I starve him, too.

We had such a great time, and hubby and my older cousins ended up playing beer pong and flip cup with some of the graduates. Oh my. I was the responsible one who only drank 2 margaritas over a course of about six hours.

After sleeping in, we had a pretty lazy Sunday morning, watching TV and just lounging around. After lunch, we decided to head outside to do some work in our landscaping. A couple of the bushes died in the heat last year, so we had pulled them and we moved a couple others to replace them. Over the next two weeks, I'll be doing a lot of watering and keeping my fingers crossed they take root!

We had the cutest little supervisor :) And sadly, the only photo from the weekend accessible to me right now. The rest are on the big camera.

After dinner and dishes, we had time to watch the season finale of NCIS {finally! hated the last five minutes though :( } before I headed off to bed. Our summer schedule of working 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. began today, so I figured I needed all the rest I could get.

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

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weekend wrapup

I've decided that a holiday weekend either leaves you incredibly exhausted or feeling refreshed & rejuvenated. Our memorial day weekend was absolutely perfect, with a wonderful mix of busy-ness and relaxation... a great way to usher in the summer.



5.25.12


Friday night, after work closed early, we went to the winery with a couple of my friends. The weather was absolutely perfect, and it was nice to get out for some "adult time."

Saturday morning, after sleeping in a bit, hubby & I tackled some organization in our spare bedroom while Coop supervised from the Johnny Jump Up in the doorway :) We made some great progress, but decided once he went down for his morning nap to have a little pool time. The weather outside was perfect and it was glorious. That afternoon, hubby raked some hay he was cutting at our neighbor's while I did some laundry and house cleaning. Coop also got some pool time with Mommy & Daddy. Later in the day,  we headed up to Cape to pick up Cooper's photos from a few weeks back, snuck in another session {I can't help it! It was free, and the package I bought was only $7.99}, and hit up Menards. The local store was celebrating its grand opening so we had to check out the deals.

Sunday was pretty much a repeat of Saturday. Although Cooper did try carrots on this day! I was surprised, he made a lot more faces with these ... seems he prefers green beans!

And Monday was perfection as well. Another repeat, more or less, but I did make some great advances in getting the house in good order. And I got to go grocery shopping all by myself last night. I love my boys, but it sure is nice to get out of the house, alone, for something besides work :)

It was definitely a different Memorial Day weekend ... no camping or floating the river, although the temps were perfect for that ... but it's OK, we still got plenty of water time :)

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Having such a fun and productive weekend makes me super excited for all the three-day weekends to come!

And I'm making myself post a menu plan for the week, to be sure I stick to it! I tend to fall off the bandwagon on these short weeks ... especially since I have a work event tonight.

Sunday: Hamburger Helper, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob
Monday: Pork loin, scalloped potatoes, corn on the cob
Tuesday: Hubby - leftovers from Sunday
Wednesday: Pork loin, potatoes, green beans
Thursday: Pizza casserole (hopefully I'll post this recipe next week!), garlic bread, salad
Friday: Pork loin sandwiches, fries
Saturday: Graduation celebration for my cousins!

Hope you all had a great holiday weekend!

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Weekend rewind

This weekend we ...

• Got all gussied up for a work gala.
• Came home to a house that was cleaner than it was when we left {thank you, Mom!}
• Had some great family time shopping and running errands on Saturday morning.
• Played with Coco



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• Let the boys have some daddy-Coop time while I volunteered at a crawfish boil Saturday afternoon.
• Got burnt at said crawfish boil, while also drinking four bottles of water in two hours.
• Went to a birthday party for a sweet {almost} 8 year old.



He really loves her ... trying to hold her hand :)

• Passed out on the couch entirely too early, but finally finished off my antibiotic.
• Washed countless loads of dishes on Sunday.
• Made green beans, carrots and apples {baby food} for Baby C.
• C got his first kisses from a "girl" - Miss D
• Barbecued.
• Took C for a swim in the pool until the rain came through.
• Praised the good lord for sending us a nice rain - we needed it! The hail didn't even bother us.
• Finally watched the Criminal Minds season finale. I was up and down the entire show and my tummy was in knots. Felt the same as the finale where Hailey was killed :(

It was the perfect weekend :)

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weekend rewind

I'm linking up with my bloggy friend Tami today for the first edition of the Weekend Rewind. Like Tami, I love blogging about my weekends, even the ones where we do nothing big, so someday I can look back at how crazy/hectic/unglamorous life was. Ha!

So ... on Friday night, we did a whole lot of nothing! That morning, I woke up really early to hit some garage sales with my mom before work. It was totally worth it, though, as I spent around $70 but ended up with about six bags stuffed with clothes for my little Coopsicle. So I just showed them to hubby, and he proceeded to groan at all the ironing he'll be doing for our little pimp man. We ate tunafish sandwiches and creamy tomato soup and then caught up on the DVR.

Saturday morning, we woke up and I was about to get started on the dishes, seeing as all I'd washed since Wednesday night was pump parts, when my mom called. She was at a garage sale and the clothes were nice but pricey, so she wasn't sure what to do. So, Coop and I got cleaned up and dressed decently and went to meet her. We again had a lot of good finds, but not near as pricey :) Right now, I'd say we're pretty much set for the next year, unless Coop hits a major growth spurt or we have some crazy wacky weather.

I also got him a couple new toys, including this music-playing stacker. He loves it.

Once we got home, we had to get ready for a birthday party, and stop to pick up a present beforehand. (Gotta love my last-minute hubby!)

The party was a firehouse theme and the cake was too cute! We had butter pecan and it was delish. Poor little Coop, he kept reaching for his daddy's ice cream, and we wouldn't let him have any of it. He'll get real food soon enough :)

Afterwards, I met a couple girls to get some planning done on a sprinkle I am helping host later this summer and we picked up some fried chicken for supper. Fried chicken is one of hubby's favorites, but I refuse to cook it. Actually I tried, but it wasn't done and we ended up throwing it out.

Anyhow, after that I decided to get my clean on, and dedicated about an hour to the kitchen, while getting some laundry in the wash. Then, I worked on picking up the living room and folding the mountain of laundry - there were four loads in baskets before I started, and I swear, I was pretty much totally focused on laundry from 7-10:30 p.m., minus a nursing break and some media breaks :) I washed a ton of the clothes I got Cooper and ended up with two loads for him - and anyone with a little one knows how long it takes to do their itty bitty clothes!

We got up kinda early on Sunday, as hubby was going to get rid of some hay and haul it off to sell. While he was gone, I played with baby Coop, did more house cleaning & laundry, and made a cake ... because today is my mama's birthday! Happy birthday, Mom!!! For her birthday, we not only surprised her with the cake, but went to visit and planted her some flowers on the front porch.

And that's about it! By the time we got home, it was time to feed Coop and put him to bed, then watch Amazing Race. BTW, I was so upset Art and JJ weren't eliminated. I can't stand them or Vanessa and Ralph, which means at least one team I don't like will be in the finals.

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weekend wrapup

good monday morning! i hope you all had a great weekend - we did!

i'm also linking up here :)

I think the greatest thing about this weekend is that we didn't really do anything. or we didn't have any plans. the past two weekends have been devoted to yard sale and i think we were both ready for a chill weekend to do some work around the house!

of course, we did sneak in some relaxation, too! during one of our text convos on friday, hubs and i decided to do a pizza and movie date at home, since it had been awhile. he got the movies and i picked up a Papa Murphy's pizza. we rented Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Footloose, and 13. I fell asleep during 13, but hubby said he waws not impressed - although he typically loves any movie with Jason Statham!

saturday morning, hubs decided to seed our lawn. we have horrible sand burrs and have wanted to seed since we moved to our house 2.5 years ago, so now that we have a kid who will be running around outside, we figured now is the time! let me tell you, that was a project all in its own. he started out by mowing and weedeating on saturday, as well as renting the aerator and seeder. then most of the day yesterday was used to aerate, seed, and aerate again. wowza. we really hope all the time and money pays off with a fab yard with plush green grass.

while he was outside working, i slaved away inside. since cooper has been born, i have been SO lax on cleaning, i've made sure to wash the dishes, cook and keep the living room/bathroom cleaned, but that's about it. well, this weekend i managed to clean the kitchen/dining room, living room, main bath, master bath and master bedroom. i did work in our spare bedroom for a bit. the nursery stays pretty clean, but does need to be dusted. i also accomplished several  loads of laundry - although, come to think of it, there is still a load in the dryer. Whoops.

Question - how do you all handle unannounced visitors? Without giving a lot of details ... yesterday, some of J's relatives stopped in without calling first. Mind you, they live an hour away. Of course, when they came, he was in the middle of all his work outside and Coop was in the middle of a bit of a meltdown, wanting to be fed and take a nap. I tried to nicely suggest that if they want to come, it's not an issue, but we would appreciate a phone call. Obvs they are primarily coming to see Cooper, and it's really not ideal for them to visit during a feeding or nap time. This isn't really the first time we've had problems with it either. They typically call, but sometimes literally 10 minutes from when they get to the house. I guess I just feel like if you are driving an hour, you can give people some notice. What if we weren't home? What if we had other visitors? What if I just needed to get dressed and pick up some around the house? No, they don't drive up solely to see us, but it's still out of the way. I just find it incredibly rude not to give someone notice. I did make a remark that I didn't know they were coming or we would have told them to come at a different time, and I think they sorta took offense to it. Am I in the wrong here?

This is a hectic week for us! So therefore, not a lot of cooking. But here's the menu plan for the week:

Sunday: PW's chicken spaghetti left over from last week & salad. {Note: I omit all veggies in this recipe. SO healthy, I know}
Monday: I have a banquet to attend, so hubby is on his own! I bought some pre-made hamburger patties yesterday, though, so I'd imagine he'll have that.
Tuesday: Nacho pie & salad. I'm not sure what recipe I will use yet but will post once i decide.
Wednesday: Leftover nacho pie
Thursday: Hubs and I are attending another banquet.
Friday: Salmon patties, fried potatoes, macaroni in tomato juice
Saturday: TBD. I'm really hoping for a pretty day so maybe I can convince hubs to grill!

How was your weekend/what are you looking forward to this week?



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this weekend {plus menu monday}

• I almost got all the laundry done!
• We watched a chick flick while cuddled on the couch and I fell asleep. Whoops.
• We ate way too much ... including baking a cake at 8 p.m. Saturday. Funfetti is the best ... and I think in the future, we will ALWAYS make a bundt cake, warm up the icing and just pour it on top - so easy!
• Cooper got some quality time with his grandparents.
• He also got to see his aunt, uncle and cousins. However, he wasn't in a very good mood when they came and pretty much insisted on sitting in his Bumbo the entire time.
• We went on a family walk to test out the jogging stroller {although we didn't jog much.} This little guy is our little Cee Lo :)

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• Poor baby woke up this morning with a snotty nose and, after eating, coughed and spit up A LOT. So much I had to take off my T-shirt AND his jammies. But then he smiled and giggled while daddy got him suctioned {again} and dressed for the day.
• We did the "balancing broom" trick. These sort of photos have been blowing up my facebook feed so we tried it. My parents were there and thought I was crazy, but it worked! Some people said it's like the egg one and due to the planet alignment/gravitational pull, but some Googling indicates it's really just a balancing act. Have you tried it? {For the record, this is an angled broom.}

• And here's our menu for the week. Last week we did pretty good, but ended up with McD's one night and some leftovers lasted longer so I never did make our chicken dish.
• Sunday: Hamburger and rice, mashed potatoes, green beans
• Monday: Hamburgers, French Fries
• Tuesday: OMG Chicken, Alfredo noodles, salad

Source: theenchantedcook.blogspot.com via Michelle on Pinterest

• Wednesday: Leftovers
• Thursday: More leftovers :)
• Friday: Salmon patties, fried potatoes, bowties in tomato juice
• Saturday: TBD. Probably something super unhealthy, like pizza.

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weekend wrap-up/menu monday

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend. Ours was OK.

Friday night we were pretty lazy and just watched TV.

Oh, and I'm happy to report that Mr. Cooper {apparently} just needed his swaddle to sleep through the night. He did about nine hours every night since I gave it back.

On {Saturday} we had a big day planned. After breakfast and morning nap, we headed up to the big city of Cape Girardeau for some shopping. We hit up a home improvement-type store to get some ideas for our bathrooms, kitchen, tile, etc. The only project in our near future is the basement, but we've never been in this store, so we thought it would be fun to check it out. We also hit up Hob Lob for a few things for a project in Cooper's room.

After that, we went to visit our friends Josh & Liz and have lunch with them. Little man was an angel and I'd say a great baby salesman. Seriously - if any of you ladies need help convincing your man the time is right, have us for a visit! He cooed, smiled, entertained himself while we were eating and was just perfect!

Sweet little angel - 2.25.12

love him SO much!

We also hit up the mall so I could use some of my store birthday coupons. At VS, I bought a racerback yoga tank as well as some yoga crop pants. Maybe having cute clothes will encourage me to begin working out again? And at Penney's, I bought a khaki trench coat that I think will be perfect for spring!

We also hit up Tar-jay and Kohls. Kohls is having AMAZING clearance right now, by the way. I actually stayed out of my department and just picked up a few things I'm hoping will fit Coop next winter.

Once we got home, we had to run over and feed J's brother's horses as they were out of town. Hubby isn't too familiar with these horses, so Coo pand I went with just in case. We also picked up some supper at a little diner on the way home. I ordered a yummy chef salad, and it looked delish - until I took a bite and realized they put onions in although I requested they didn't. BOOOOOOO! I still ate most of it, picking around the yuckiness, although I probably shouldn't have

Because ... I didn't sleep well at all that night and on {Sunday} woke up with a horrible stomachache, headache, etc.. I mean, I got up to feed Coop then went back to bed until 11 a.m., when I got up, forced myself to eat some cereal, then fed Coop again and went back to bed. Around 3 p.m. I finally felt good enough to do some housework. I'm pretty convinced it's that the onions did a number on my system, which reminds me why I don't like to eat them.

I slept much better last night {like a three-month baby} and am glad that today is so beautiful!

On to the menu plan. Ugh. I feel like I am in a MAJOR cooking rut right now. If you have any favorite, easy recipes you think I should try, please leave them in the comments!

Sunday: Leftover pork chops, cheesy potatoes, mac & cheese. Brownie sundae for dessert!
Monday: Lasagna, salad
Tuesday: BBQ sandwiches, fries, mac & cheese
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: OMG chicken {recipe from Pinterest}, mashed potatoes, green beans
Friday: Tunafish sandwiches, tomato soup
Saturday: Leftovers.


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sporty weekend

This weekend was all about sports in our house! With a few other things mixed in :)

Saturday night, my alma mater, Mizzou, played kU in basketball. Typically Mizzou dominates in football and kU in basketball, but the two teams have SUCH a rivalry. Here is a good article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the rivalry.

One of my facebook friends posted this and it cracked me up!

It seems to be even more heated now, since Mizzou will be in the SEC next year so this could be the last time the two teams played at Mizzou Arena. So of course, we had to get pizza and be all decked out to watch the game. Cooper is a Mizzou fan, of course :) I would do the M-I-Z chant and he would just smile.

The game sure was a nail biter and I almost turned off the TV when we were down by 9 with about two minutes to go, but my Tigers ended up winning 74-71!

The college bookstore is selling some super awesome victory shirts and I've asked for one for my birthday :)

Of course, the Super Bowl was this weekend too. I don't really care for either team but cheered for the Patriots because I feel like others love to hate them. Ha! Honestly, I wasn't much into the game until the final couple of minutes (a crying baby will do that to you!) but thought it was a great finish.

We ate leftover pizza, mini pigs in a blanket and summer sausage with cheese and crackers. Yummy... don't want to think about how many calories I consumed. Speaking of, I read somewhere that the average American consumes over 4,000 calories on Super Bowl Sunday ... yikes! Once my birthday is over, I've got to get serious about eating healthy.

This little guy enjoyed the Super Bowl, but conked out at the end.

As for my favorite commercials, I loved both Doritos, the VW one, all Budweiser, the Bud Light one with We Go (too cute!) and the promo for the Voice. I big hear Betty White.

So of course, after the Super Bowl, we watched The Voice. I didn't think I would, but I really liked it. I may have to add it to our DVR line up.

Besides watching sporting events and eating way too much, we took our tax information to the accountant, went to a home & garden show and did some cleaning around the house this weekend. Did y'all do anything interesting?

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My poor baby ...

Is not feeling the best :(

Sunday morning, Mr. Cooper woke up with a very stuffy nose. Poor babe. And lots of spit up ... but how do you like milk when you are congested?

We suctioned him all day. After the first couple times, he decided he didn't like it. Seriously, it was so bad he broke down every time we laid him on the changing pad. We ran the humidifier and also covered his little chest in Vicks.

Keep in mind the whole time, Momma wasn't feeling too great either. And daddy had just gotten over being sick as well.

So I kept him home yesterday. I was off work and though I had toyed with the idea of taking him to the sitter for 1/2 of the day (I have to pay regardless) I just didn't think it was far to my little Tuff boy to go while his momma was off work anyhow.

He had lots of fun on his mat especially with his new toy, Freddy the Frog. We let Cooper choose between it and a blue puppy dog and his face TOTALLY lit up when I held up the frog :)

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And all weekend we did a whole lot of this! Cooper loves to cuddle with both his mommy AND his daddy :)

1.12.12
Totally not the best angle for me, but I don't care

In between loving on my two boys, I actually got some cleaning accomplished over the weekend! *Most* of our laundry is done (although not all folded), the kitchen has been cleaned for the first time in probably six weeks (and looks SO big) and our living room is mostly clean. Yay for progress :)

How was your weekend? Did you all get Monday off or have to work?

Weekend wrap-up

First off, how are all of you? We unhooked our router last weekend because it was in the baby's room and haven't had the time to start it back up yet, so I've been relying on my iPhone to stay in touch with the outside world and was incredibly busy during fall break. So I haven't read blogs since about noon last Wednesday. This morning I attempted to get caught up but quickly gave up, especially since I have lots to do after 2 days off and will be on our main campus for meetings, etc. the next 2 days.

Anyhow, on to the business of the weekend ...

We started with a 1.5 page to-do list. Which quickly grew to two pages. Originally, I had planned to prepare some meals with mom's help and stash them in the freezer. But over the past few weeks, I've decided my house was a dirty mess and I wanted to deep clean. I can always double recipes a little at a time, I figured, plus I didn't have a lot of room in my freezer.

So on Wednesday night, hubby and I stayed up until past midnight getting things ready in the nursery. We put together the crib (a nightmare!) and set the dresser in place, plus put things back where they belonged, like light switch plates and blinds.

The next morning, Mom arrived and I put in a load of laundry then we went to work in the basement, cleaning out my deep freeze and working on the little items we bought at yard sales - wiping/vacuuming them and cleaning the fabric.

Also that day, we cleaned out the dining room portion of the kitchen, which still had some bags with baby shower items. Then we moved everything and cleaned the walls, trim, windows, etc.! Every nook and cranny, plus about half my cabinets. You really don't realize how dirty things get over 2 years until you start cleaning. We finished up in the kitchen the next day (let me tell you, it was a job and a half!)

We also got all of the baby clothes washed/folded/put away and the other things organized. So many people are afraid Baby R won't have any clothes since we don't know the gender, but let me assure you, he/she has plenty to last until the 6-9 month size hits.

Before Mom had to leave on Friday, we got started in the bathroom and she helped me organize the closet to make a shelf for baby stuff as well as space for the bathtub. We didn't completely finish the room, but I wrapped it up later that night.

Also over the weekend, I deep cleaned the living room, including vacuuming furniture, wiped everything down in our hallway, and J and I finished several other small things, like painting and mounting the fan blades for baby's room, putting together the glider, checking the smoke alarms (that weren't even hooked up!) and more. On Saturday, we also spent most of the day in Cape for the childbirth prep and other classes.

In all, I'd say we crossed about half of the items off the to-do list. And lifted a huge weight off of my shoulders. As I explained to hubby, there are a lot of things left on the list, and while some are necessary (like ordering the monitor) others (deep cleaning the master) are more wants. I think if we just tackle one task a day, we'll be done right at Nov. 1, which is when I want to be all ready. Regardless, if I went into labor today (which I totally don't want to happen!) I would feel a lot better about my house being ready not only for a baby, but also visitors!

Right now, my biggest thing is to figure out what pump is best for our needs, and to clear out the spare bedroom, which has become the catch-all for things that were previously in the nursery.

And I promise a nursery reveal post soon, I just want to wait until everything is in place!

About 36 days to go. EEEEK!!!!

Gas station parking lots are dangerous (weekend recap)

Sunday was such a bad day I'm *glad* it's over! It began with a backache and ended with the crunching of some metal :(

First off, I woke up in a really bad mood and back/rib pain started shortly after. I did not feel well at all and totally took it out on hubby. After cleaning the bathroom, I basically decided I was done for the day and was going to relax. Wishful thinking.

Early in the afternoon, I looked out the back window to see one of the horses had escaped his pen. Luckily he was behind the fence and still on our property, munching on some green grass. I couldn't get hubby on the phone but knew he was just down the road cutting/baling hay, so I flew down there to let him know. He easily got Jax back in the pen and the fence all hooked back up. Anyone want a horse? Free for the taking!

Then after I thought I could relax again, hubby showed back up at the house and asked me to drive truck while he and his brother loaded the hay. I figured it couldn't be too bad. Wrong. I was probably in the worst pain I've ever experienced my entire life. I'm not sure if it's a foot or what, but the only way to get comfortable was to lie down. So when it was time for them to unload the hay, I crawled into the backseat.

The guys ended up loading another trailer, but thankfully not unloading into the barn. After I followed hubby home, we needed to go to town to fill my car with gas (I hate doing this in the mornings!), get some deli meat for his lunch and pick up his work truck.

As we were pulling away from the pump, I looked up and saw a Jeep flying through the parking lot. This dude was seriously crazy and pulled right in front of us (as J was driving). I was pretty speechless and we ended up colliding :( My car actually didn't take too much damage though (thank goodness!) and neither did his Jeep. The guys both figured damage wasn't enough to turn in on insurance and they both drive for a living, so now we're looking into getting it fixed. It looks like it's just a light and some paint and a little ding in the hood on my car. Thankfully we weren't going fast, no one was hurt, and it could have been a lot worse.

Let's see, in other news this weekend we were up until about 10 p.m. getting hubby's truck all clean and pretty to drive in the parade Saturday, which went very well. I walked the entire route! That afternoon, we did some work around the house and picked up to get ready to have the carpets cleaned. And my kitchen is still filled with things from the living room now, because Sunday was so busy!

I think that's about it. Lesson learned : be very, very careful in parking lots.

Weekend wrapup

Happy Monday, friends! The weeks sure are flying by - I can't believe this is the last week of September already!

We had a very full weekend. Work actually feels like a break, haha!

{Friday}

MY WEDDING BAND WAS IN!!! Yay :) So, we went to look at it and have it soldered. It was totally worth waiting to have this custom-made beauty.

My engagement band, which J designed, has four stones (emerald-princess-emerald-princess cut) on each side of the solitaire. So, we had the band made to match the first ring in size/mount, and just had two princess stones inserted where the solitaire is on the engagement band. I haven't seen the appraisal yet, but it's scary knowing the value of this bling - and what I could buy with that money! But I totally love this ring and will never want to upgrade, so I'd say it's an investment for a piece I can hand down someday.

Later that night, J drilled some grass seed in the pasture while I cleaned house. Exciting, I know.

{Saturday}

We drove into town to have doughnuts for breakfast. Yes, I like giving my baby a sugar high, ha! We also stopped at the farmer's market for some honey. After my ranting about fall allergies on Friday, my blog friend April suggested I try taking a teaspoon of local honey as a natural medicine. We found some from a town about 20 minutes away and decided it was worth a shot. Today, I'm still kinda stopped up, but it's only my third day AND I feel much better than I did on Friday (even though it rained all weekend and that tends to make my allergies even worse) so I think we have a keeper.
We picked up some painting supplies on Saturday (!) then went home so J could finish drilling seed while I napped and did laundry. That night we went to a fundraiser event, and scored a great little gift for Tuff in the auction. I bought baby a quilt, too, and I'll try and remember to share it. The other one is a surprise :)

{Sunday}

We woke up to rain and it continued pretty much all day. So after breakfast, we got to work on the baby's room. We decided to go ahead and paint the closet too, so first we had to pull out everything. While J painted, I wiped down the trim in the bedroom. Then I got busy on repainting trim. Our trim is a sort of beige/tan right now and while it would look OK with the color we are painting the walls, we think white would like 10x better. I sure hope so, because it is hard work! All I did was a closet and my back is pretty sore!

Don't worry, I wore a mask to keep Tuffy from inhaling any of the fumes ...

 By about 7 p.m., we were worn out so we threw in the towel. And watch "The Amazing Race" :) In addition to the trim being very detailed work, we're doing a few other things, so I'd say we'll be lucky to be done painting by the end of the week. But I hope to get all the prep work done soon - I can't wait to have furniture in there!

SURPRISE!!!

So yesterday afternoon we had a housewarming party to attend.... or so I thought.

It turned out that my friends and family decided to surprise Baby R and I with a baby shower! And hubby was in on it! The stinkers.

The best surprise? My friend Bel drove all the way from Alexandria, Va (almost 14 hours one way!) for the shower. Unfortunately, she was in town since Thursday and having to sneak around and I only got to see her during the shower and maybe an hour afterwards because she had to get on the road at about 5 a.m. today.

I'm going to wait for the big recap until I get some pictures sent to me. But I'm sure my face was priceless when I saw Bel. I could also kill my husband for not making sure I washed my hair (it was third day, usually second day looks best) and letting me believe it was a garden party so I wore a summery hat, flattening my hair. Ha!

Also, a couple of people almost ruined the surprise, but these girls did so good (even my mom didn't let it slip) that it really was the best surprise ever. It actually left me speechless.

Seriously though, it was amazing. I can pretty much count on one hand the essentials we still need for baby and a few people who were unable to come have already told me that they are sending/bringing something by to welcome baby Tuff into the world. My bestest friends all got together to buy us the stroller/car seat, and one of their husbands even put it together for us, for which hubby was *very* appreciative.

One of the games was guessing whether Baby R is a boy or girl ... and girl actually won! My mom, bless her heart, voted for "a healthy baby" and other than that, I think girl won by two or three. Even Tuff's daddy guessed girl ... and his note to the baby had me in tears. I think I'll share it, too. 

Tomorrow, I'll post a poll on the blog so you all can guess the gender. Now I'm incredibly confused as to whether I have a stinky boy or sweet girl growing inside me ...

Our weekend :)

Mostly consisted of this ...

And this ...

And a bunch of this ...

*All images via Google

Seriously. After more or less neglecting house work the past eight weeks, but especially since we got back from Gulf Shores, I had a ton to do!


Last week was kind of slow at work, since my supervisor was at a conference in Florida. I basically wrapped up everything she asked me to do by Wednesday and had some small things to do on Thursday, so she told me to just take the day off on Friday :) After sleeping in, I hit the grocery store (no milk for this mama wasn't a good thing!) and got caught up on my soaps. That afternoon, I hit up a couple of yard sales and got several items for Baby R.


That night, we received our marriage certificate and CD of wedding photos in the mail :)  So we spent over an hour looking through those photos and ones a family friend took at the reception. I have a code for 200 free prints at Snapfish, so I'm trying to sort through as quickly as possible.


There were a few yard sales (with mat clothes) I wanted to hit up on Saturday morning so when I was wide awake by 6:30, I figured why not. I found several shirts --- but what I really need are PANTS! Today, I did wear some regular pants with the Bella Band and that still seems to be working, so maybe I'll be OK.


After I got home, I started cleaning up around the house and working on the mountain of laundry. J also did some of the little home repairs, like fixing the towel bar and working in the landscaping. When my feet got sore, I went through all my wedding stuff and some other items and priced it for garage sale. I'm getting rid of my things MEGA CHEAP because I don't want to store them.


That night, we watched Secretariat. SUCH a good movie. I stayed awake through the whole thing --- which meant not going to bed until after 11:30. That's good for me!



Yesterday, we tackled more house cleaning, some household shopping and laundry. Now I only lack one more load to be caught up on the laundry. J installed an access panel in our laundry room, so we ended up tidying it up as well - I joked that his projects lead to more projects for me.


We planned to write out some thank yous, but I was exhausted and felt like kicking my feet up. So I did, while catching up on "What to Expect" (I read Months 1-2 ... that's how far behind I am!!!) while J watched a movie.


How was your weekend?

XOXO --- Michelle

Tuesday tidbits

— Sometimes I think a three day weekend is worse than a regular one, especially with a holiday. We stuffed ourselves pretty much every day (I'm just glad that, for me, it included a lot of fruit and veggies!) and were constantly on the go. But that's a good thing. I'll tackle the messy house tonight.


— We went swimming at a friend's house Friday afternoon. They were both at work for a bit, so we got to enjoy having the pool to ourselves. We love their kiddos, but it's nice to have the quiet time. And convinced us we need to save for a pool of our own. 


— Saturday we had lots of errands to run and spent most of the afternoon in Cape. We also went out for dinner to Tractors, this amazing grill in Jackson. I really wanted the twice-baked potatoes but am extra sensitive to chives and they couldn't make without, so I had sweet potato fries. Delish! In fact, I bought sweet potatoes the next day so I can try to recreate at home :)


After dinner, we were so stuffed we took a short walk in the downtown area and I snapped this picture. 

— I'm really not a fan of maternity clothes, especially with the big panel, but have realized with my growing bump, I need to buy some items that will fit a bit better. We lucked out at Kohls, however, and when combining sale with a 30 percent off coupon, I got a pair of work pants, blue jean capris, shorts, two cardis and a dress for 70 bucks. I also got $10 in Kohl's cash, so I was very excited :)


— We had TWO barbecues on Sunday. Baby R was happy to get hamburgers, hot dogs, lemonade and fresh sweetcorn. I had J snap this picture of Tuff and I before we left. 

Growing, huh? We also got to tell our neighbors about the new addition!
And please excuse the bruises below my knee. That's what happens when you run into a ball hitch on a truck, ha!


— Yesterday we ran a bunch of errands together and then went to eat yummy food at a nearby picnic. I had a plate full of tomatoes. Yum. 


— We only have one weekend until the wedding. EEEK!


— Stamps STILL aren't in. Hoping they are in the mailbox today. 


— I've had a lot of wedding freak outs today (hair lady can't come anymore, trying to figure out vehicles ...) but I think it's all working out. I just need to remember this is MY wedding and it's not my job to work around everyone's schedules and make them all happy. 


Happy week, friends!

Weekend wrap-up

This was one of those weekends that it felt like I blinked and it was over! Gotta love summertime, right?

{Friday}

After work, I drug J to a few yard sales. He ended up finding a squat rack (I think) and some other weight things to help complete our workout room. It's weird because he usually gripes when we go to yard sales, but he ALWAYS seems to find things like that. At killer prices, too. 

Later that night, we bought a pizza, rented True Grit, and fell asleep on the couch. I REALLY liked True Grit --- have any of you seen it? 

{Saturday}

This was a LONG day. We slept in and then watched a line of showers move through. Then we headed up to Cape to tackle lots of wedding stuff. I finalized the order for our personalized napkins for the ceremony, then we met a friend at the mall to give us another opinion on clothes for the groomsmen. We ended up finding what we wanted at AE and a sale (buy one pair of shorts for $45 and get the second pair for $10) so we lucked out. We ran a few more errands at the mall and then went to lunch at Logans. Those fries are to.die.for! Yes, I am a foodie :) Also that afternoon, we registered at Target. Now I understand why registering is a full-day task! We still need to do Wally World but are planning that for one night after work this week. 

Registering is hard. Especially when you already have a house together. I felt so bad registering for things more than $50, but decided that a registry is filled with suggestions, not things that people have to buy for you. I think Walmart will be a lot easier. At least I hope so. 

Later that night, we went to play some Texas Hold 'Em at a friends house and I left a couple times to get pictures of a bridge demolition for an overpass that will be rebuilt. Here's a couple of my favorites:

Beating the bridge with a wrecking ball

Standing on the Interstate while they demolished one of the last standing structures.

{Sunday}

We planned to do work around the house. But J's parents called on Saturday and invited us to their house as they were having a double birthday party/fathers day cookout. So after a yummy breakfast, some baking and cleaning, we headed down to Arkansas. I hate that drive. It always makes me sick and I was exhausted from my 18-hour day on Saturday. So I slept in the back seat of the truck :) We had a great time visiting and spending time outside under the shade trees. Seriously made us wish we had shade trees on our property. 

And that's it :) I think I'll be making another special announcement on the blog tomorrow, so stay tuned! Hope you all had a great weekend!