Final Countdown!

It's hard to believe we're looking at less than 16 days until the little guy's arrival. I'm happy to report we are SO totally ready for him to get here... except for the tiny little fact that I haven't yet packed a single thing for our inevitable hospital stay. Ooops! And to think everyone says mine and the baby's bags should have been packed by week 35 and here we are approaching week 37 on Tuesday. Oh well! Here's hoping we don't have an unexpected early arrival and our guy sticks to my plan.

Today I was thinking about some of the baby things I'm most excited about this time around and thought I'd share a few of them here. Luckily we had a lot of the essentials already, and we have been very blessed by friends and family who have increased our stash with missing must-haves like clothes, blankets, towels, bottles, etc. So these are just a few of the things that get me super stoked about all things baby!

A new diaper bag? Yes, please! I just purchased this little lovely from my dear friends at Amazon yesterday, and am dying to get it here so I can see it in person! The reviews on it are awesome and it sounds like it has a TON of pockets -- both inside and out -- and is super cute and stylish to boot! Win!

Angel Dear elephant lovies for the boy. You may not know this, but LO had her Angel Dear Teddy and Chase still has his Angel Dear Monkey. We find something we like and stick with it, huh? I especially love this 3-pack because you ALWAYS have to have a spare so your little one isn't without their BFF on laundry day.

Noodle & Boo? Sounds funny, but I'm hoping it smells fantastic and works well on my little guy. I wanted to try something other than Johnson's Baby this time, and I found this product had great reviews across the web. Also ordered from Amazon, it should arrive this week and I can't wait to give it a whiff!

I decided to use Chase's crib bedding for the baby, and I'm so glad I did! I had mixed feelings about it but in the end I decided it didn't make sense to buy another set when we had such a cute one sitting up in the attic! I love the way it looks in his room and I'll be sure to share pics soon. NOTE: I don't have all of the items pictured here as that would be some serious jungle animal overload! Ha!

Nursery wall art by Mommy? A must-have!! I was inspired by this beauty from etsy seller DallowayPlaceKids, but wanted to put my own spin on it (of course). The verse from Jeremiah is one of my all-time favorites and so very appropriate!

I've heard such wonderful things about these adorable muslin swaddle blankets! My sister is using them with her sweet little not quite 3-month-old daughter, and it sounds like they couldn't be more functional! Plus I just die over the little blue elephants! Looking forward to wrapping these little guys around my precious little guy!!!

So that's my little roundup for today. I just thought to myself I should do another post like this one except with the essentials for Mommy, but was so saddened to realize I really don't have any special pampering products for myself! Just the basics, which is no fun! Oh, well!

JJ Cole Satchel Diaper Bag, Angel Dear Elephant Blankie Pair and a Spare, Noodle & Boo All About Baby Newborn 2-in-1 Hair & Body Wash, NoJo Jungle Tales Crib Set, Custom Nursery Wall Art Created by Mommy, aden + anais Cotton Muslin Swaddles

Randomness with a Side of Panic

So it's been a few days about 2 weeks, since I've blogged, and it was such an unfortunate post to share about LO's new furniture. Ugh. Even now if I stop and dwell on it I just get mad all over again. Some of you have wondered what our final decision was, and I'll tell you that we have chosen to ((gulp)) keep the furniture. I know, I know... Most of me was against this idea from the moment we unboxed it, and to be honest, I REALLY REALLY REALLY don't feel like we got our money's worth on this purchase, even after they refunded a paltry amount in an attempt to appease us. But it's done now, and I'm choosing to move forward. We have requested they replace the arched mirror in its entirety, and are awaiting its arrival, so at least we can assume that one will be in better condition (hopefully, anyway). Hubs spent some time caulking all of the trim on the headboard and footboard, and I have to say it looks simply amazing. Exactly like what I would've expected it to look like brand new, straight out of the box. All that's left now is for him to caulk the trim around the individual drawers on the double dresser, and I anticipate that will look just as awesome. So really, at the end of the day, this is the lesser of two evils, especially considering I didn't have a Plan B of alternative furniture that I was set on.

Some exciting news? The big room makeover is taking place in T-Minus 2 days!! Actually, less than that! I'll be getting started after LO heads to school Friday morning, and we'll have all day Friday and Saturday until early evening to get it all done. I couldn't be more excited! I am SO ready for this and I cannot wait to see LO's shock & awe response when she sees it all for the first time. She has no idea this is happening (nor that she'll have a fun sleepover with the grandparents while it takes place!), which makes it that much more fun for me! Be prepared, because I'm pretty sure I'll have the amazing Before & After post ready to share on Sunday (or Monday at the latest). WOO-HOO!!!

Oh, and after 3 different paint samples, I've finally settled on Ballerina Gown by Behr. It's a very pale pink, so hopefully once all the walls are done it won't look like Pepto-Bismol threw up everywhere. I'm finding that the online sample has some weird purplish hue to it, but I can promise you it's really just a very very pale pink.

Another random piece of excitement? I needed a new breast pump for baby #3 because we sold the one I used with LO and Chase on craigslist back in 2010. That's pretty exciting news, right?? No? Oh, well let me continue... I've shopped around and the Medela Pump in Style that I want runs around $299.99. Ouch! So I've been trolling eBay recently to see if I could land an amazing deal on a NEW, UNUSED, UNOPENED, SEALED pump (as I'm totally not willing to purchase one that's been opened or -- heaven forbid, used -- from a stranger off the interwebs). There have been a few I've watched come and go and they typically land around $190 or so at best. Well, friends, let me just tell you that I am pleased to announce I just landed said $299.99 breast pump for... wait for it... $152.50!!! Seriously. I am beyond thrilled!!! I can't wait for it to arrive so I can investigate and verify it truly is still factory sealed and unused so I can be super happy with my score. Woot!

On a less than happy note... last Saturday hubs and I went to a wedding and ran some errands while my mom stayed with the kiddos. We were on our way home when I got a call from my mom, saying, "Don't be surprised if you see fire trucks in front of the house when you get here."

{{INSERT CRAZY PANIC HERE}}

My first question was whether or not the kids were okay. Of course I was super freaked out that something happened to Chase. She assured me she and the kids were fine, but that there was a FIRE IN OUR BACKYARD.

What the huh?!

Luckily we were less than 2 minutes from home when she called, and we actually saw the fire truck pull into our subdivision as we were about to turn in. We found my mom with the kids in the front yard while half our neighborhood was in the backyard, apparently having just put out a brush fire with a dozen or so garden hoses from neighboring homes. There wasn't much for the firefighters to do but assess the area and be sure the fire was fully out. Whoa.

Turns out our neighbor had a fire pit and a small stick got caught up in the wind of the crazy windy night we had on Saturday and landed in the dormant, dry sodded grass of their backyard and instantly went ablaze. They tried to stomp it out and smother it, but apparently in a matter of about 8 minutes, half of their yard, half of ours, and a section of our next neighbor's yard was up in waist-high flames. My mom said LO was yelling at her to "Call 911! Call 911!" What a great girl! My mom couldn't figure out how hubs has our back door rigged (let's just say you have to use an actual key to open the door... from the inside), so she took the kids out front and called 911. It's good that she got through because apparently one of the neighbors tried calling and was put on hold with 911! Lovely. So at the end of the day, it wasn't a big deal -- just a bunch of drama -- but it did result in half of our fully-sodded backyard turning into charcoal. ((sigh)) One of the main reasons we chose to build with Ryan was for the fully-sodded yard, and we were looking forward to seeing what the spring/summer would bring now that it's been just over a year for it to take. It just looks so sad right now...

I just took these pics this morning so it's had a good 4 days of improvement from what we originally saw Sunday morning once the smoke cleared. ;) Hubs tells me some people purposefully burn up their grass to help it grow in better. So yay, apparently this isn't horribly detrimental to the grass. My biggest issue is that whether the grass grows in better or worse in the burnt area, it's going to grow in differently than the rest of the yard. Those of you who know me well know that I'm OCD about things like this and enjoy consistency. So I'm super crazy bummed that the fully-sodded yard we paid good money for will most likely grow in completely different in the two areas. Grrrrrr! But it doesn't sound like there's much we can do about it, so whatevs. I've chosen to keep my window blinds in the morning room closed so I don't have to look at it because honestly, it looks horrible in person and when I see it, it just makes me crazy disappointed. So I'm choosing to ignore it for the next 2-4 months until the dormant season is over and we can see what kind of growth we will end up with. I'm not looking forward to this, but will keep my fingers crossed that it's not horribly obvious. Ultimately I'm just so thankful that all that was damaged was the grass... no one in the neighborhood was hurt and none of the homes were damaged. It could've been MUCH worse... it was crazy windy that night. But thanks to the quick actions of the neighbors and plenty of lengthy garden hoses, all is well. What a blessing!

My last random note... I'm 33 weeks pregnant people. THIRTY-THREE. And at our appointment on Monday morning, my Perinatologist wrote orders for an induction at 39 weeks. That means, if my math is correct, we're talking SIX WEEKS until baby boy's arrival. SIX WEEKS!!! As in the last week of April, which is NEXT MONTH! Can you tell I'm in a slight state of shock & awe?? There is SO. MUCH. TO. BE. DONE. between now and then! I'm happy we're knocking out LO's room this weekend, because that means we'll FINALLY have her furniture to put together in the baby's room to set up his nursery. I'm not painting his room or doing anything drastic, so getting the nursery ready should be relatively painless. But I have yet to wash the first thing for him, haven't even gathered up Chase's old baby stuff that we'll plan to use, don't have any of the big stuff (like the car seat, stroller, etc.) pulled out of the attic yet, haven't even located some things like the baby bath tub or bouncy seat, and I'm not even sure if we have all the pieces of the Pack n' Play to put it together in our room for the first little while when he'll stay in our room with us. And don't even ask about hospital bags because I haven't even so much as started the list of what I'll need/want to bring, much less started packing any of it! I still can't believe the count down is just under SIX WEEKS for sweet boy's arrival. This is insane. I haven't even set up my time off from work yet or submitted paperwork for my leave. Geez. There's gonna be a LOT to get done over the next few weeks around here!!! But at least I got a great deal on a new breast pump though, right?? ((sigh)) Whatever it takes to distract myself from the fact that I'm going to be pushing a person out of me in the very near future... YIKES!

Oh, and has anyone told you that Easter is only a week and a half away?? I've got to find the kids' Easter baskets and figure out what in the world I'm gonna put in them this year. Oh, and I'm also planning to MAKE (as in SEW) LO's Easter dress this year. Guess that'll have to happen next week, huh? Whoa!

Enough random for now. I'm overwhelmed and totally panicked now. Peace out! :)

The One I Didn't Want to Have to Write (about the furniture)

It's true. This is the post I didn't want to have to write. It's the one I never thought I'd have to write! But alas, I gotta keep it real here if for no other reason than for myself to look back on in 10 years and remember my utter disappointment.

Let's take a moment to recall the progression of events, shall we? Friday, December 21st, 2012, I introduced you all to the beginning planning stages for LO's new room, including a short list of likely suspects for her new furniture purchase. This of course included the winner we eventually selected!

Fast-forward to Monday, December 31st, 2012, when I was so very excited to write this post informing the world that we had finally selected AND PURCHASED the new bedroom furniture for LO's room. I recall being so very ecstatic and happy and blissfully ignorant at the time. It would only be 4 to 6 weeks until we could finally do LO's new room!

Now then, let's discuss Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013, when I about died writing about the infamous phone call that changed the 4 to 6 week delivery timeframe into a whopping, unexpected 10 to 12 weeks. This sucked on so many levels, mostly because it would delay doing LO's room, which in turn would delay getting the nursery ready for the baby. NOT a happy mama.

In mid-February, I hit the interwebs again searching for a back-up plan of furniture that could replace what we ordered since the production delay caused a significant impact on our schedule. I searched high and low and was unable to find anything I liked even half as much as what we had already selected. I had no other option but to wait.

And wait.

And wait some more.

Then, it finally happened! Monday, February 25th, 2013, I got THE CALL informing me that our furniture had arrived! It was even a few weeks earlier than the delayed date we were given. How wonderful! I couldn't believe it. Now we could finally schedule LO's big room update. The only problem? Every single weekend for the next 4 weeks were already booked with work and other activities. This meant that even though the furniture was here, it would still be at least ANOTHER MONTH before we could knock it out.

{{insert crazy disappointment here}}

But it would be okay. I had enough other stuff to distract me and keep me busy and preoccupied until the big weekend arrived and we could finally surprise LO with the big girl room of her dreams! In the meantime, hubs and I went ahead and had the furniture delivered to the house and went about unboxing all of our treasures in preparation for the big event.

This is where the major disappointment/frustration/you-name-it happens.

As I mentioned on Monday, March 4th, 2013, we were shocked at what we saw as we unboxed our expensive, brand new furniture. It was terrible. There were no words for it. In fact, there still are no words for it. So in order to document this travesty, I took pictures.

Now, mind you, I'm certain many of my readers will see these pics and think, "So? And...? What's the big deal?" And that's cool. You're entitled to your opinion just as I am to mine. But let's just imagine you paid somewhere between $1,000 - $2,000 on this quality furniture, freshly unboxed, and tell me you wouldn't have some of the same frustrations as we do.

Let's start with the arched mirror. It actually arrived in pieces (not the mirror itself, but the mirror was completely detached from the frame). There were all sorts of scratches and chipped paint on the front trim. The mirror itself had two screw holes along the very edge of each side where they apparently tried to screw through the mirror when assembling it. Awesome.

Then let's talk about the dresser. I couldn't clearly document in photos that the drawers open unevenly (the drawer stops inside are obviously uneven), so we'll just leave that issue out of it. But let's check out the impressively destructed trim and paint job...

Moving on to the headboard. I for one would expect the use of a little bit of quality caulk to seal any noticeable gaps around the trim once the paint job is complete. Apparently I'm the only one.

The footboard had similar issues with gaps everywhere. I mean, really. It's obvious the trim was attached (possibly glued?) onto the footboard and then painted, but not caulked. Seriously?!

Now I do want to point out that yes, I am 31 weeks pregnant. And apparently along with the mood swings, weird cravings and weight gain, pregnancy also brings along with it's symptoms for me an overwhelming increase in pickiness and the apparent need for perfection in all things. So I get it. Perhaps my hormones have overtaken my logical thinking processes and have turned me into a whining crybaby, overly critical of this furniture and ridiculously unimpressed with its lack of quality.

But I'm also a human person with eyes that can see. And I'd like to think that other human people with eyes would see the same issues I've discussed here and be just as frustrated and disappointed as I.

{{sigh}}

This was supposed to be a wonderful, exciting process of updating LO's room and I know it will be. I've put so much time, money and creative energy into the other items and accents in her room that I know the big surprise unveiling will be everything I have dreamt up in my head and more! But oh how I hate the unexpected, unnecessary drama we're having to endure to get to that point. I'm just not a happy camper right now. I expected more. Maybe that's my own fault. Shame on me, I guess.

Baby Gear

Those of you readers who are rather astute may have caught the fact that I mentioned in yesterday's AMAZING post about Chase's AMAZING potty training progress that I registered for our baby boy at Buy Buy Baby. The list is pretty small... there's not much you truly need by the time your 3rd little one comes along. But we inventoried our supplies when we cleaned out the storage baby's room so we'd know what stuff we actually needed to include on the registry. It's basically some towels, blankets, bottles and a few sleepers.

This is where YOU come in! I'd love to hear some suggestions on must-have baby gear for 2013! It's been 4 years since we purchased baby stuff, and, let's admit: the stuff we picked up for Chase was a bit different from what you'd buy for a healthy little arrival. Case in point? I have a TON of snap-front sleepers that worked great for Chase while he was in the hospital because of his leads and wires and stuff, but those aren't so handy when you're changing a newborn's diaper in the middle of the night. And sure, we have all the big stuff like furniture, car seats, strollers, pack n' play, etc... but there's gotta be some "fun" stuff out there that would make welcoming #3 just a tad easier, right?

So please, feel free to comment below or on my Facebook post or via Twitter and let me know what things YOU found incredibly helpful with your recent little ones! :)

Floating Shelves

HELP!!!

I'm desperate to find floating shelves as seen in the photo below, but unbelievably have been striking out everywhere online! I can't believe how hard it is to find these guys! They are white and I'm guessing between 12-24 inches long. I want them to be floating shelves so you won't see any hardware or support beams below them. Anyone seen such things??

Source: http://www.daffodildesign.com/2012/04/i-decorate-room-for-two.html

I've tried contacting this blogger but haven't received a response so I'm turning to my blogosphere friends for help. I really want to use these on a wall in LO's room when we complete her room transformation in a few weeks.

HELP!!!

What's in My Amazon Shopping Cart??

One of my favorite food bloggers wrote a post today about what's in her Amazon shopping cart. I found it quite interesting to see what other foodies/moms/humans are pining for and decided to share a glimpse into my Amazon shopping cart (and/or Wish List) with you!

Here we go!

#1: Homes Styles Bordeaux Bakers Rack ($323.71) - This gorgeous bakers rack is the future home of my cookbook collection, a small lamp and maybe a little ivy plant of some sort, not to mention my tiny collection of "fancy glasses" and the wine bottles I use for cooking (not drinking). I'll stash some placemats and fabric napkins in those drawers, too. I have the perfect kitchen wall selected and have recently hung a family photo there so as to not stare at a blank wall that is screaming "Insert Bakers Rack Here!" every time I look at it. Patience, my dear self!

#2: Blumotion Hinge Adapter - 25 Pack ($77.49) - When we built the house, we didn't have the option to make any upgrades to the kitchen cabinets we selected. One of my must-haves (okay, so maybe "nice-to-haves") is these handy adapters that close your cabinet doors for you. ((Wow. I sound lazy.)) They just make it to where you can close the door and it won't ever slam -- it just closes with a soft, gentle close. Who wouldn't want such a thing?! And if we're being technical, we actually have 27 kitchen cabinets, but I'm thinking I can get by with this handy 25 pack. I rarely use the cabinets above the fridge anyway.

#3: Graviti Electric Salt & Pepper Mills ($39.95) - "Adding fresh-ground sea salt or pepper to food can be as effortless as a flip of the wrist. Invert these battery-operated mills over food, and their blades begin to whirl. Turn them upright, and the mechanisms shut off."

Such a fancy description (courtesy of Williams-Sonoma), but you get the gist. Me likey. And the fact that each one requires six (6) AAA batteries? Sort of astounding, huh?

#4: Cuisinart Power Advantage Plus 9-Speed Hand Mixer with Storage Case ($71.33) - I don't always have the time nor the need to bust out my Kitchen-Aid for heavy-duty baking, so it'd be nice to have a high-power hand-held that I can rely on. I love how cute this one is (priorities, right?) and the ingenious storage case is a bonus, too! And of course we can all agree Cuisinart is a quality brand when it comes to kitchen appliances.

#5: All-Clad 3-Piece Canister Storage Set ($100.93) - Okay, I have to confess -- these kickin' canisters are no longer in my shopping cart. They're in a UPS box being Amazon Primed straight up to my door, arriving on Friday. I've been eyeing these for quite some time, and I finally decided to give in and pay a premium for pretty storage for my flour, sugar and brown sugar. I'd like to consider a second set for powdered sugar, chocolate chips and cocoa, but I don't think I could get hubs on board with that idea. I can't wait to see these beauties sitting on my kitchen counter! Now I'm thinking I ought to search for a set of All-Clad pots & pans to match!

#6: Perfect Light Desserts: Fabulous Cakes, Cookies, Pies, and More Made with Real Butter, Sugar, Flour, and Eggs, All Under 300 Calories Per Generous Serving ($19.77) - I think the crazy-long title says it all, right? If my passion involves a lot of baking (and sampling, of course!), it just makes sense to find "healthier" dessert recipes to try out. I'm a big fan of Nick Malgieri's work (his Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from this book are TASTY!) so I'm sure this cookbook would be a valuable addition to my collection.

#7: They're Real! Mascara ($22.00) - I'm always on the hunt for an amazing mascara, and this is one I have yet to try. The reviews are pretty mixed -- some say it's the best while others claim it's no better than some random drugstore brands. I'd like to see for myself!

For those of you who made it this far, let me just say that I am desperate to share some pics of our kitchen backsplash!! However, we just (finally) grouted it a few days ago, which means we just now (yesterday) caulked it and we still need to seal the grout and replace the outlet covers. Until those tiny little remaining tasks are complete, I'm not ready to share the big reveal. Just know that it is in fact GORGEOUS. And I do love it dearly. And I'm beyond stoked to share it with you!

Little Things

It's the little things that make me happy. I finally ditched my massive Otterbox iPhone case for a fun, cute lil new one:


Now, this case really isn't "me," but my girl likes pink/purple and my boy is all about monkeys. So from that perspective, ya, I guess this case really IS "me."

Told ya -- it's the little things! ;)


Posted from my iPhone

Good Night -- Literally!

We just got home yesterday from a long weekend in Hilton Head, SC, and I've got lots of fun stories and pictures to share. But for now, I'm going to leave you with the single most useful, productive and peaceful purchase we've ever made: a $25 portable crib mattress.

Chase has NEVER been a fan of sleeping in the pack n' play, and we've always wondered if it's because he typically only sleeps in it the night before a procedure or surgery while we're in Charleston. He's a smart one, huh? But alas, we started troubleshooting and realized the cardboard "mattress" he'd been sleeping on was, we'll say, somewhat less than comfortable. We had tried piling up towels or extra blankets between said cardboard and the sheet, but it was always lumpy and just made for a miserable night's sleep for him (which, obviously, meant a miserable night's sleep for mommy & daddy, too).

So we bought this crib mattress and WHOA! You would NOT believe the difference it's made! We've used it on two trips so far, including our most recent family vacation to Hilton Head, and this child sleeps AMAZINGLY now! We're talking 12 hour nights of uninterrupted sleep, people! Seriously. Who knew such a cheap investment could make such a HUGE difference in our lives?

So while I will be sure to post some pics n' stuff from our vacation soon, I couldn't let another second go by without all of you parents of little ones out there knowing about this amazing little invention: a 3" thick portable crib mattress for $25 bucks. Seriously. It will change your life!

Monkey Fun!

Last week, I took the kids to Barnes & Noble to play with the Thomas train table and look for some new books. They always love the "freedom" they get when I allow them to wreak havoc in the Children's Area (haha! So maybe I still keep a pretty good eye on them so they don't turn into "those kids" you see whose parents actually let them run wild). While they were playing, I happened to notice this adorable little monkey bag by Skip*Hop:

I couldn't pass it up! Granted, we already have this super-cute monkey backpack from Pottery Barn Kids, which I totally love (imagine Chase's name on it, not James')...

...but it doesn't have a single pocket, and I'm big on pockets when it comes to a diaper bag. The Skip*Hop bag has a huge front zipper pocket AND a mesh cup holder on the side. And the little banana zipper pulls? Totally took the cute factor over the top! I'm just so glad to FINALLY (after almost 4 years!) be devoid of a traditional diaper bag in lieu of this cutesie little backpack. Oh, and I put it on Chase and made him carry it for a few seconds (it was kind of heavy!) and it was the Cutest. Thing. Ever.

I just love that boy!

Shoesies!

So I ordered something fun and cute for my boy and was so excited when they finally arrived!

What was it, you say?

Oh, you know... Just the world's most adorable Toy Story Crocs!!!

Aren't they the cutest?

Chase is totally besties with Buzz these days, and Woody sometimes, too.

Don't let the lack of enthusiasm on his face in this next one confuse you into thinking he doesn't absolutely love his new Crocs. It just so happened that Yo Gabba Gabba! was on TV and his focus was slightly distracted... :)

Oh, and did I mention these cuties are only $14.99 (50% off regular price!) from Crocs.com?

Yay!

New Family Member!!!

Yes, folks, it's true.

After weeks of deliberation and internal discussions/arguments with myself, I finally pulled the trigger and ordered this bad boy:

Only $3.99 for overnight shipping, thanks to Amazon Mom (if you're not a member of Amazon mom, you should be!). This beut will be arriving tomorrow.

And it's mine!

All mine!!!

I've got two birthday cakes coming up in the next few weeks, so I figured now is as good a time as any to go ahead and add this little guy to our family.

((swoon))

It's Time

I've decided it's time. It's time for a major upheaval in our household. Time for change. A BIG change. I've loved a dear member of our household for many, many years. But it's time for him to go. Time for an upgrade. A bigger and better, newer model. It hurts me to admit it, but I'm afraid the time is here. Well, I guess technically it will be here once I can afford it. But in the meantime, I'll practice my good-byes to my dear, sweet 250-watt, 4 1/2-Quart KitchenAid who has served me so very well over the past 10-ish years, and eventually invite a new member to join our family. The KitchenAid Professional 600 Series 6-Quart stand mixer.

So, to recap:

Before...

After...

((My heart skips a beat each time I so much as look at the beauty of the image above. Swoon!))

Just Some Random Stuff

So, it's been a few days since I've published a post out here, so I figure it's time. The awesome thing is that there really isn't anything crazy to write about these days! We're just an extremely happy family of four enjoying spending time with each other and loving our summer! I just can't say enough how amazing it is to just be a "normal" family doing "normal" things and enjoying our "normal" life! Thank you, Lord!!!

Hmmm... let's see. So yesterday I took the kids to Babies R Us to shop for a new car seat for LO. She's currently in a Britax Marathon, which I LOVE, and honestly she still fits well in it. The durn seat goes up to 65 lbs., and she's just now 30 lbs.! But believe it or not, she's getting close to maxing out on the height limit! Crazy, right? So I wanted to let her try out the Britax Frontier 85 to see if she'd like it. It's a combination 5-point harness seat (like she's using now) but also functions as a booster once she hits 40 lbs. My favorite thing (besides the excellent safety features) is that it has not one, but TWO cup holders! I can't tell you how tired I get of handing her drink back and forth while I'm trying to drive since her current seat doesn't have any cup holders. I also like that this combination seat has arm rests and doesn't seem as "inclusive" as her current seat. I guess I think it looks more like a "big girl" seat than a "baby" seat. So I put her in the Frontier and I'm pretty sure her face depicts her level of excitement regarding this particular car seat:

Ya, that's right. She was stoked. Totally stoked.

In the mean time, my little man was chillin' in the cart, eating his Puffs by the handful. No surprise there! Isn't he a cutie??

So since I'm on the subject, I'm going to sidetrack myself for a moment. In the picture above, Chase is in the Buggy Bagg I bought for LO a few years ago. I used it with LO for about a month or two and the zipper that closes the bag broke. The company was nice enough to send me a replacement. Within a month, the strap that connects the seat to the shopping cart broke. Keep in mind I honestly wasn't even using it all that often -- maybe once or twice a week. At that time, I just threw the durn thing aside in the garage and forgot all about it. I busted it back out to use with Chase, but since he hasn't really perfected sitting independently just yet, I want to be sure he's safe. Obviously he's buckled into the seat cover, but the seat cover doesn't buckle or attach to the cart. Long story longer (apparently), I decided to order a Balboa Baby shopping cart cover. It is the cutest thing ever (online) and I'm really excited to get it either tomorrow or Saturday. Have any of you used a Balboa Baby cart cover? It looks much more comfy and padded than the one I'm using now. I hope Chase likes it! I think he'll love the crazy geo print I chose for him! :)

Continuing with the random... for the 4th of July we headed to our church parking lot to watch an amazing fireworks show. I was curious to see how the kids would do. I know LO doesn't love the noise of the fireworks, but was interested to see how Chase would do. Here's a couple of pics I grabbed before the big display.

Chase with his little friend, A. She was totally over having her picture taken and was ready to take off. This sweet little girl is just a month older than Chase. I just know they'll be BFFs growing up. ;)

And here's LO looking totally excited to be hanging out with her friends and cousins.

During the actual fireworks, LO covered her ears and pretty much freaked out. She definitely didn't like the loud noise! But she sat on daddy's lap and he helped cover her ears and kept her turned around so she could at least watch the fireworks. She did say later how much she loved them and talked about all the different colors. So sweet!

Chase did amazing! Keep in mind this was around 10pm, and he's usually tucked nicely in bed by 8pm. He didn't cry at all! I think the first few scared him a bit, but once he saw what was going on, he was captivated. He stayed on mommy's lap and I kept his ears covered while he stared up in the sky in awe. I love imagining what it's like to see the world through his beautiful, innocent eyes.

Another totally random Chase story. My mom happened to pick up a box of those Huggies "designer" blue jeans diapers. Have you seen the commercial? "The coolest you'll look pooping your pants." No? Well, you've got to see it so you can truly appreciate the humor of these hilarious diapers. Go ahead and watch it below. I'll wait.

Ya. So what crazy product development department came up with those? And the marketing department coming up with that tag line? How very sad.

So my mom bought a box for Chase. I had to put him in them just so we could get a good laugh out of it. Without further ado, here he is!!!

Another shot of his awesome diaper. See how happy these designer diapers make him?? ;)

Crazy. Just crazy.

And for my next (final?) Chase funny story... I went in to get him up the other morning, turned the light on, and got sidetracked doing something. He was just cooing and talking to himself in his crib, so I didn't worry too much about it and kept doing whatever it was I was doing. A few minutes later, I looked over at his crib and noticed something unexpected... Do you see what I see?

That crazy, silly boy of mine! A few seconds later, I noticed his sweet, smiley eyes peeking out from behind the bumper pad as if to say, "Hello?! Mom!! What are you doing out there? I'm ready to get up now! Come get me!!!"

I so love this boy!

And of course I love my girl, too. Speaking of... I think I'll end this random post with a little video clip of a discussion I had with her earlier today. For the record, this was right after she woke up from her nap (as evidenced by the "crazy hair"). Can you say "bipolar??" ;)

Oh, and I added some captions to assist you in understanding her crazy-tired-whiney vernacular.

Meet Our Newest Family Member

So, hubs and I bit the bullet and now have this parked in our garage:

We purchased this beautiful 2011 Toyota Sienna XLE and, as much as I hate to admit it, I. Absolutely. Love. It. It honestly looked the least "minivan-y" of the options we looked at, in my opinion anyway. Our Jeep Grand Cherokee just wasn't cutting it anymore with TWO kids, their car seats and all their miscellaneous junk, so we decided it was time. We also scoped out bigger SUVs as well, but none of them had the features and space we needed for a price we were comfortable with.

The first minivan we test drove was the 2010 Honda Odyssey, but honestly? Hubs and I HATED it! It totally drove like a minivan (shocker, right?) and was just so... I dunno. It wasn't for us. There are 80 gazillion of them out on the roads today, so obviously there are a lot of Odyssey fans out there, but that just doesn't include us.

We resorted to looking only at SUVs as we figured all minivans would drive like the Odyssey. We test drove a few and still just weren't satisfied. I mean, it is SO unlike me to have my husband give me the "go ahead" to buy a NEW car, and yet I'm just not excited about it at all and am at a complete loss as to what to buy. I finally got to the point where I said we'll just wait (gasp!) a few months and see what things look like during the summer. Maybe there'll be some great sales. Maybe a new car will come out that I fall in love with. Maybe...

Then I happened to see a cute commercial for the new 2011 Toyota Sienna. You know, the ones with that crazy couple with their two kids? They call it their "swagger wagon?" You can check out their silly commercials here. Anyway, I decided that we'd test drive one more minivan before completely closing the door.

Hubs and I both Fell. In. Love. It was crazy! This thing (the Limited, of course) drove like a dream! We both agreed it drove like a luxury crossover more than a minivan. We both loved the body style... not overly minivan-y since the front hood doesn't come to a point and drop off into an abyss. We were sold. After haggling with a few local dealerships, we ended up making our purchase last Tuesday. I'm so in love!

The dual power sliding side doors. The power lift gate. The heated seats. The XM radio. The sunroof. The leather. The captain's chairs for the kids. The LATCH anchors for the car seats. The fold and stow 3rd row. The beautiful predawn gray mica color. The DVD player with wireless headphones. The tri-zone automatic climate control. The bluetooth for making/receiving phone calls and listening to the music from my iPhone wirelessly. I could go on and on and on! There's so much to love about this vehicle!

So while I still somewhat hate the fact that hubs and I had to officially enter into parenthood with the rite of passage known as a minivan purchase, I'm still totally stoked about this baby! I can't wait to break it in on our upcoming family road trip!

Woot!

Pajamas

I've been getting super-frustrated with pajamas for Chase. Apparently stores pretty much only carry the one-piece jammies that have snaps instead of zippers. While the snaps were extremely useful while we were at MUSC (since he had lines coming from everywhere), I don't much care for finding and matching up snaps at 3 o'clock in the morning after changing a diaper. So I've been on the hunt for pajamas with zippers.

I found some Carters zipper pj's at Target, but it's really weird because the zipper bulges right under his chin and just looks plain ol' uncomfortable. Plus they are really thin. Both my mom and hubs' mom bought some really cute ones from The Children's Place, but the zipper twists all crazy around his leg and they're almost impossible to zip up. VERY frustrating.

So, I found some pj's online at Gap and ordered the cute ones below to see if they're any better... ((keeping fingers crossed))

Finally!

I purchased my first Apple computer, a MacBook, in May 2007 and have loved every single day with it. I was a bit apprehensive at first to make the big switch from a PC to Mac, but it truly was the easiest adjustment and by far the best decision I've made technology-wise in my life! I'm not a crazed Apple lunatic, though... just want to make that clear. However, I have been pining for an iPhone pretty much since day 1 when they first appeared on the market. Unfortunately, we've been unhappily-loyal Verizon customers for years although I have hopelessly tried to convince hubs to ditch Verizon for our friends at AT&T so I can enjoy the pleasure of owning an iPhone. Up until yesterday, it was a tough battle with a very bleak outcome.

Recently I discovered that we are eligible for a butt-kickin' discount on AT&T service through hubs' employer. Whaa? Seriously?! The ironic part is that we also have a discount on our Verizon service through his employer, which we've been taking advantage of for years! So I was quite excited and pleased to find out that this same discount is available to us at AT&T. So I did a comparison -- apples to apples (no pun intended) and get this! It turns out a new contract with AT&T (including an iPhone for yours truly) will actually cost LESS than our current contract with Verizon. Where has this information been all my life?!?!

SO... I am now more than overjoyed to say that I am now the proud owner of my very own iPhone 3GS! Yep! We finally did it! I shall forever remember Friday, September 4th as the day I finally purchased an iPhone. The past few days have been ahhhmazing, to say the least! It's ridiculous how EASY everything is with this thing! Texting, pictures, web browsing, emailing, you name it, it's easier with an iPhone. My poor darling hubs has to suffer with a Sony Ericsson slider phone, and you should see how long texting takes on that bad boy. I hope for his sake that practice makes perfect!

But in the meantime, I'm enjoying every second of my new iPhone ownership! Woot!!!

LO's Birthday Wishlist... (Not)

LO and I had some time to kill this morning, so we headed over to Toys R Us. For a little over an hour, I let her run around like a crazy-child and check out all the toys. She was in heaven! Around almost every corner, you'd hear an "Oh, my goodness! A BIG (fill-in-the-blank)." Whether it was a puppy, a Mickey Mouse somethin-or-other, Yo Gabba Gabba toy or Thomas the Train (she has varied interests, people!), it was always an "Oh, my goodness!" Too cute!

You should have SEEN her when she hit the jackpot aisle. All of those motorized cars? Gracious. It was nothing short of hilarious. She went from car to car, climbing into the driver's seat, pressing buttons, then moving on to the next one. She's so crazy! Granted, she won't be seeing one of these anytime soon, but it sure was fun to watch her act a fool!