Here Comes the Sun...

I've been seeing these sunburst mirrors all over blogland. They are super cute and cheap to do yourself.  I'm surprised I haven't seen many colored ones though.

For months I have been thinking of doing one for the baby's room but decided I didn't like the idea of one in a boy's room.  Chloe loved the idea of doing a purple one for her room.
Chloe did all the painting...

We made this...

Not only was it a super easy project but it was cheap too. We got about 40 paint sticks from Lowes and then a 7'' mirror and a picture hook from Michaels for a few bucks. I used my hot glue gun to put it all together.

We like how it turned out and how cute it looks in Chloe's room.

I couldn't have done it without Chloe's help! 

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Another Summer Night

Is there a better way to spend a summer's night than going to a ball game?  Chloe won some free Orioles tickets at the library.... she loves going to baseball games!  It will probably be our last game this season. It feels like summer is quickly coming to an end.

How do you like to spend your summer nights?

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Nursery Progress and Quick Summer Recap!

Wow, I did not do a blog post at all in the month of July and only 1 post in June! That's crazy.  It's been a fun summer... some busy days and some well-deserved lazy days!  First thing... my husband (who completed grad school in May) landed his first teaching job!!!! We are so proud of him! We are having a graduation/got a job party in a few weeks to celebrate!

Now on to baby stuff...

B... is for Baby... Boy... and Blue!

We have rearranged half our house to move Christopher's office to the family room. That meant also moving furniture from the basement family room upstairs to the living room so Chloe and Chris could happily share their family room/office space.  I've also spent a great deal of time cleaning out the storage area in the basement. 

The nursery is slowly coming together. We put the crib together and bought a rocking chair from a local consignment shop.

It's a small space but it'll work. Once we move the dresser upstairs the only thing we need are curtains and a small rug. (Not much else will fit in this cozy room).

I wasn't loving this blue... but since I can't paint right now, it's works. It's actually started to grow on me.

We also need to get the radiator painted!

More news.

Guess what....

We went out and bought a mommy van!

 I swore I'd never buy a minivan... then one day at the office we went out for a girl's lunch and we all rode together in someone's minivan. It was so spacious... it'd be perfect for three kids and a dog to go on family trips. When my car had enough, I knew it was time to upgrade to a minivan.  We are all loving our new (used) Toyota Sienna!

Here is my baby bump, now at 6 months!

I feel huge and feel like I look huge! Ahh, the joys of being short... pretty soon I'll be as wide as I am tall!  It's all worth it and I love my pregnant belly so I'm not complaining!

We've been keeping busy, having fun and doing a lot around the house.  However, as I mentioned, I am not painting while I am pregnant (booohooo) so that's partly why I've been slacking on the blog posts.

We have been enjoying our summer...

Chloe has been enjoying swimming in Grandma's new pool! 

playing some baseball...

and just having fun!

I am amazed how quick summer is flying by. Only a few weeks left until school starts.  Although, I must admit - I can't wait for fall, it's my favorite time of year!

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It's a....

 We found out last month we are having a baby boy!!! We are so surprised and excited! 

We have been super busy this summer working on a ton of things around the house... Now that I'm finally getting some energy back I hope to be sharing some of those things with you very soon!

Hope you are enjoying your summer!

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Summertime Blooms

I love summertime...

when lilies and hydrangeas bloom!

As you can see here, I have plenty of weeding to do... using up the little energy I have.

What's blooming in your garden?

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Beach Getaway

Last weekend we had our second annual beach trip to Rehoboth Beach!

This year it was extra special because we were celebrating my husband graduating grad school!  Congratulations Christopher, I am so proud of you! 

We love going the weekend before Memorial Day, to avoid most of the crowds.  One day it was actually warm enough to get in the water.... at least to my knees! 

Chloe had a blast!  Last year she was terrified and ran away from the waves.  This year she ran into the water fearless and ready swim and play!

We had a wonderful relaxing weekend.

I LOVE THE BEACH!

We took Obi to the beach for the first time too.... he wasn't so sure about the ocean but he did love the lake we took him to.

I love him and I'm so glad we take him on our family vacations.  Obi is such a great swimmer. 

Speaking of swimming... my mother-in-law is buying a new house, with a pool! I am so excited, I can hardly wait.... and when she goes out of town we can sneak over and let Obi swim in her pool. She'll never know! Mwhahaha (that was my evil laugh).  

Just kidding... just checking to see if you are still reading my blog!

I know I have been MIA from blogland the past few weeks.  I blame it all on my pregnancy.  I am exhausted.  In the past couple weeks the nausea has been getting worse.   I am not complaining though, we couldn't be happier.  I did find the energy a couple weeks ago to sand down this dresser for the nursery.  

It took every last bit of energy left in me.  I am not pushing myself hard to do any projects because I work full-time and have a family to spend time with. I need to relax and take care of me to keep our baby healthy.  I am anxious to paint the dresser though, I just need to find the energy to go to the store to buy paint.

I am officially in my second trimester now... woohoo!! I am ready to celebrate this milestone... well, almost.  I will celebrate when my energy comes back, which is suppose to be any day now... so they say!  Our baby is now the size of a peach...

No... not that Peach...

That's right... about the size of one of these delicious looking peaches.  The one thing I am dying to eat, fresh picked amazing peaches!!  When exactly is peach season around here anyway, anyone know? 

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

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Weekend Recap

Not a day goes by that I am not grateful for the family I have.  I have the sweetest daughter, who lavishes me with hugs and kisses and tells me every day what a great mom I am.  She can sit down and read an entire chapter book in one day at age six and is always looking for ways to help out.  Everyday I am so proud to be a mom.  This year we have a lot to be happy for, the baby growing inside me and such a wonderful daughter who is going to be a great big sister... and of course these guys...

Chloe and her dad spoiled me a bit this year. Chloe gave me 4 cards.  One of them had an adorable poem she wrote:

You're as loving as a heart,
You're as sweet as a gum drop,
You're as kind as candy,
You're as patient as a pea,
You're the best mother ever!

Chloe and her dad made a wonderful breakfast and gave me these beautiful flowers.

Plus, Christopher bought me a gift certificate for me and Chloe to go get pedicures!
We spent the afternoon at Christopher's mom's house where we had crabs for lunch.  I never had crabs and was pretty freaked out about trying them..... I was not disappointed!

I never appreciated Old Bay until today.... Wow... these crabs were awesome!!

We spent the afternoon with good food and in good company.

Chloe had a lot of fun playing with her cousin, little Stephen.
We had a wonderful and relaxing Mother's Day!

How did you spend your Mother's Day?

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I Learned to Crochet

After Chloe made this adorable little hat for the baby...

I decided I wanted to make one too.  I made one for Chloe and a matching one for the baby!

So cute... and super easy!! I want to make a ton more hats and scarves in all different colors.... just waiting until I have some energy!  I'm starting to wonder if I will ever have energy again. 

Hope you all have a wonderful week ahead of you.

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Antique Telephone Lamp

My father-in-law gave us this antique telephone lamp, which he got from his father made in 1904. 

 Isn't it awesome? I love it... it is a very cool lamp.  It is extra special because I love having things passed down through the generations.  

It's great having little reminders of our families throughout our house. In this picture the lamp, I guess could be considered a family heirloom, sits on a table from Christopher's sister.  We are fortunate to have lovely things all over our house that have been passed on to us from family members.

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Wednesday Blog Party

Pinch of This, That & the Other has started a weekly Whisking Wednesday link-up party!

Link-up to share your recipes and check out all of the other delicious recipies! Who doesn't love a link-up party?! Check it out here.

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Got a Craving, for Something Sweet...

The other day I got a craving for something sweet.  Mom's Rice Krispy Treats.  These aren't the typical marshmallow treats.  In fact, I hate marshmallow treats after growing up eating these... filled with butterscotch and chocolate, melt in your mouth goodness!  Since I have been good about going to the gym and eating healthy, I decided to give into my craving and make them!

Mom's Rice Krispy Treats

8 cups of Rice Krispies

12 oz of chocolate chip

12 oz of butterscotch chips

1 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Melt peanut butter and butterscotch chips in pan stirring constantly on low heat, when melted mix with rice krispies and pour ½ of the mix in a buttered 9x13 pan.  Put in refrigerator until hard. About 30 minutes. Then melt chocolate chips, water and sugar in pan stirring constantly on low heat.  Pour all of the melted chocolate mixture in over the rice krispies, spread evenly.  Top with remaining ½ of the krispies. Refrigerate. 

Growing up, these were always on our holiday menus. These are the best rice krispy treats ever! Perfect for my sweet cravings!

Linking up to Whisking Wednesdays!

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Yard Progress

Remember my spring project post? If not, you can read it here.  I have gotten a lot done!

Remember how our front yard looked before...

Here is how our yard looks now...

Here is a closer look of what we planted in the flower garden (so far)...

Our backyard is really coming along too.

Here is the before...

Here is everything I wanted to get done...

Here is how it looks now.

It's still a huge work in progress.  We put turf builder down a few weeks ago and put some grass seed down last week.  We finally removed that last bush in the top right corner!   We are determined to get grass to grow and have a nice yard!

Here is our old to-do list... I have crossed off what we have completed:

• create raised bed for vegetable garden We decided to wait until next year. This year's project is to get grass to grow!
• remove all ivy Now we just need to make sure we kill any ivy before it gets to be a problem.  We removed all ivy in our yard but the problem is it is coming from the neighbor's yard.
• remove one last bush (top right) Yay last bush is gone!
• remove old compost bin (hidden behind the top right bush)
• buy stand for the hose
• fix-up the old bench We might just buy a new one and toss this one pictured since it will probably cost the same to buy a new bench as it would be to replace the wood on this one. 
• fix the gate latch again (guys we paid to remove ivy broke it!)
• remove back left tree and plant a lilac bush or cherry blossom tree (or both in different areas of yard) Probably wont be removing that tree this year.
• remove old garden area, till up and put down grass seed
• create a patio area We decided not to put down a patio but eventually build a nice deck instead.
• buy patio furniture for the patio area Wait until we have a deck.

Yes, I also need to: 

• give Obi a bath
• lose 10 20 pounds (think... tank tops and shorts) Ha, this wont happen now that I'm pregnant!
• find a summer camp for Chloe

We have been pretty busy with yard work.  Not bad for a month and a half... I think we've gotten a lot accomplished so far!  Now, let's see if we can get some grass to grow!  Now that spring is here, are you finding you are spending less time inside painting projects and more time in the garden?  What have you been working on?

Happy Easter everyone... have a great week this week!
Linking up to Debbie's Newbie Party here.

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Time Flies

A week flies by when you are having fun!

 We had a great week, filled with lots of family and relaxing.  

My mom was in town and it was really great seeing her! We went shopping one day with my mother and mother-in-law. It was a fun girls day!

(This is me and Chloe with my mother-in-law.... yes, I am sporting my Flyer's shirt... for the playoffs. Go Flyers!)

I had my first ultrasound yesterday. It is so amazing to see the first heart beat. Proof there is actually life inside of me... reason for the nausea and bloating!

The baby measured 8 weeks and had a strong heartbeat!

My mom taught Chloe how to crochet... and Chloe made this hat for the baby.

Isn't it adorable?!  Chloe is so awesome for making this hat!  I'm going to let the gund puppy my mom bought the baby wear it until the baby needs it! Chloe was originally going to make one purple and one green.  Then my husband reminded her that in Baltimore purple is great for a boy or girl for Ravens colors!

This morning we took my mom back to the airport. It's always hard to say goodbye, but at least I know she will be back in a few months to visit.

Chloe had a great time playing with her Nana this week!

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend and have a Happy Easter!

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