pumpkin day

last night we went to the family fall festival at our church where they offer a great alternative to trick or treating....they call it trunk or treat. everyone tailgates, cooks out, and passes out candy to all the kids. it's fun and extra safe! today, we went to visit our family to show off our furry, chubby lil' dinosaur. tonight i got the joy of passing out candy....don't call me a pooper, but i like to give out handfuls to get rid of it quick!

mommy and her dinosaur.

daddy, lil' dino, and cousin taylor.

the side shot is the best! i love that tail.

cousins.

my friend, heather, made these costumes for her girls. i loved the idea...super creative!

hunter was one tired dinosaur at the festival. i think he fell asleep in mommy's arms about 45 min. after we got there. daddy loves this picture because he says he feels like he was holding a real live dinosaur.

hunter had a fun 1st halloween! hope you did too!

this and that friday

what do the below items have in common?

they were free. yes, i mean f-r-e-e.

if you go to vocalpoint you can sign up to receive lots of great, free products.

sure, i'll take a sample of a $35 cream that chases away wrinkles.

yes, i'll definitely use that secret clinical strength. although, i don't normally buy clinical strength. i don't think i need it. ; )

zit zapper cream. of course. and its all natural. but, it does have salicylic acid in it, so i am not really sure how its all natural. don't worry julie, i am not using it while preggers.

these are from the kodak online gallery. they were giving away $15 worth of any products. the deal still may be on. you should check. i was planning on making my own christmas cards this year, but you can never beat a deal on free christmas cards - especially 30 of them with envelopes.

now, on to even more fun things.

my friend leah, is having her daughter's 1st birthday a week from today. leah asked me to make all the decor and favors. i am really excited. this might be a new venture for me. i have always wanted to make something and be able to sell it....i already have an online web design picked out and a store name. i'll let you know what happens. here is a peek at the decor for the 1st birthday. it is a door hanger for outside their house:

up close:

i have added some cute pink buttons to it that are not pictured. i am not going to give away anymore! leah is going to take a bunch of pictures of the party so i will be able to show you all the decor in action!

and, the best part for last....my sweet hunter. he really is such an angel and i am not biased at all. : ) he hardly cries, takes some amazing naps and continues to be a really good eater. i am beyond thankful for his calm temperament. he is getting in his two top teeth. here is a look at that:

he also likes to stand up next to everything!

trying to figure out the whole crawling thing. he usually rolls everywhere since it is much more efficient at this point.

oh the love.

last week was my lil' bro's 11th birthday. hope you had a great day andrew! we love you!

hunter and daddy. my loves.

i can't believe my baby is going to be 9 months old on monday!!! i love him to pieces!

tonight we are going to our church's family fall festival. can't wait to post pics from that!

{dis}organization

being in the first trimester and taking care of an 8 month old = fatigue. lots of it.

fatigue = sleep. go figure.

sleep = laziness.

laziness = disorganization.

so, yes, that is where i am at. completely disorganized. i should say that that is where i was at yesterday. i had receipts strewn all over my purse (i can't stand that...it is definitely a peeve of mine!). i hadn't balanced the checkbook in way too long (yes, we're old school and don't always do everything electronically). our calendar was completely behind and i just kept trying to remember a lot of dr.'s visits, lunch meetings, outings, etc. until i realized i started double booking things. it is dangerous for a pregnant mom to try to remember anything anyway.

yesterday afternoon hunter took a three hour nap. how glorious. i resisted the urge to take a three hour nap myself (trust me, that took a ton of will power! especially when i constantly feel nauseous!) and i dissed the disorganization and got organized. i feel so much better today. for me, life is better when you're organized.

don't you agree?

the roaring twenties

last night, our community group got together at kaz & amy's house to have a murder mystery dinner party. the murder took place in riotsville in the 1920's during prohibition. it was so much fun! the best part is that kelly and i were not the murderer. i was so afraid i was going to be the murderer and give it away with my face.



caleb, julie, me & kelly


all the guys sporting their '20's attire


the gals with our flapper dress wannabies : ) the gal with the gun (amy) was the murderer!!!



kaz & amy. thank you guys so much for hosting this!


us (this is why i don't normally wear lipstick!)


we had so much fun!!! if you are looking for a fun group activity you must have a murder mystery party!!!

the secret is out.

surprise, surprise!





there's a baby in there!!! i am a little over 8 weeks along.


you are probably thinking, what??? they just had a baby. well, you are exactly right. that was exactly our thought when we found out. it is strange to think that i will have had two different pregnancies in the same year. my poor body...i was still nursing when i got pregnant. we were shocked and scared at first (the whole newborn stage is fresh in our minds...not to mention all the medical bills!). now, we are rejoicing in the Lord's plans! we know that a child is a gift from the Lord and i don't want to do anything but be thankful!


my due date is the first part of june, but since i had an emergency c-section with hunter, i am guessing the next one will be a scheduled c-section for the end of may. so hunter and baby #2 will be 15 months apart. do we buy another crib? do i use two diaper bags (especially when they have to go to different nurseries)? double stroller? so many questions. for one thing, we will be taking the cheapest route possible...the new baby might be in the bassinet for an extra long time until hunter can go to a toddler bed. i know i have plenty of time to figure all this out!


i am not too excited about being back in maternity clothes and buying more...i will be prego in different seasons. why do they have to be so expensive? oh, and gaining weight. i guess no one is really ever ready for that. at least i got back down to below my normal weight. just knowing that it is possible to lose your baby weight is comforting. i am sure i will need to remind myself of this over and over and over again.


i will be one busy momma having kids so close together, but i know plenty of people have done it! if you have kids close in age, tell me about it!

my best friend's baby shower

tonight i had my best friend, julie's baby shower! i think everyone had a good time (or at least i hope!) and it was great to celebrate jude's upcoming arrival in december. i am so tired. for the past two days all i've done is baby shower stuff. kelly has been so kind and watched hunter so i could get everything done. i had a fabulous time making all the decor...i can't wait to make everything for hunter's 1st birthday! so much fun. i love making things. anyways, here's the shower action-

favors and a sign up sheet for guests to write down their email addresses if they want to help bring meals after the baby is born.

a blessing ring. i got the idea from katie. everyone took a sheet of paper and wrote down a scripture, prayer, encouragement or advice for julie. then, i put all the pieces together with ribbon. i think it turned out really cute!

i should've taken this picture after all the gifts had arrived. i made the baby boy banner and the sign on the chair that said "congratulations julie!"

cupcakes. they were yummy. i made them and then stuck the elephants on toothpicks to add a little flare. : )

desserts. lots of calories tonight! if you look at the wall you can see another banner i made with the baby's name on it. i also made little cards saying what all the desserts were.

the guests playing a game!

me, julie, and beth. beth helped me with the shower! julie, i hope you had a wonderful time at your first ever baby shower.

baby shower favors

in an effort to get my mind off politics, wait...i guess i should tell you why my mind would even be there - i would say i am a bit of a political junkie...i became obsessed with politics in 6th grade - not sure why - and was convinced i'd become a political analyst for fox news. well, i don't work for fox news but i did get a degree in political science and am still obsessed with it. i know that it is such a touchy subject. so, i try to avoid it on my blog. while i would love to defend my beloved fox news and go on and on and on about the first amendment, censorship, oh yeah, and how our economy is slowly becoming un-capitalistic, i won't. instead i will tell you about some cute baby shower favors.

how do you create the cutest baby shower favors ever??? a few easy steps. (i should tell you first, that i didn't make these. my aunt, who is entirely creative and an absolute perfectionist, made them for me and sent them to me all the way from california. she is sweet like that. i am creating a website for her to sell cards, stationery, favors, etc. i can't wait to share the site with you when it is up and running!) if you don't have an aunt like mine, here's how you can make the favors yourself:

several cute scrapbook papers

stamp pad, scalloped circle punch, and a "welcome little one" stamp (made by stampin' up)

york peppermint patties

double sided tape

stamp a circular piece of the scrapbook paper as shown and then cut out a larger circle for a background color. then, take another piece of scrapbook paper and use the scallop circle punch to make 2 scalloped circles. finally, use double sided tape on the inside of each piece and attach a york peppermint patty.

this is what you'll get! a super cute baby shower favor!

thanks aunt cheryl!

italy finale

a gorgeous park in venice. this was the only large, open space there. it was nice. especially with all the trees. there weren't many other trees anywhere else on venice.

in st. mark's square. we didn't stay long...too many people. i felt like i was going to get pick-pocketed or lost.

a canal in murano - the island where we stayed. i just realized i look really tired.

us on the water taxi. taken through a reflection on a window.

water shot of st. mark's square.

have i mentioned how expensive it was there???!!! i guess since our dollar is almost worthless next to the euro, it made it very pricey to do anything. we ended up eating out of grocery stores most of the time - as in lunch and dinner everyday. we would get bread, cheese and fruit. i don't want any bread or cheese (especially together) for weeks to come. we did eat at a restaurant a few times. we ordered 2 sodas and had to pay $12 for them. yikes. no more sodas after that! gelato was cheap so we enjoyed it a few times! if you are going to europe - save up for a long time! otherwise bread and cheese will be the only thing in your budget. =)

we enjoyed venice a lot. i actually enjoyed the castle area better. there were rolling hills, mountains a few miles away and it was so quiet. venice is one of the biggest tourist traps in the entire world. it is so busy and noisy. but, very very clean. everywhere we went it was so clean. if you are planning a trip to italy, i would say that a day or two in venice would be plenty. spend more of your time in the mountains! oh, and every single italian that we met or spoke to (i should say, attempted to speak to...we knew zero italian!) was overly kind.

when we got home, it was about 10pm. hunter goes to bed at 7pm but we just had to wake him up. we sort of startled him and he cried, but after a few minutes, he remembered us (or at least that is what i like to think). the next day, he wanted me to hold him constantly. i loved it. my mom took off work and watched him the whole time we were gone. she said he was an angel. i think she is an angel for taking care of my baby for so long! the minute we got back she said that she would watch him anytime (still!) - after keeping a child for 10 days, and still wanting to keep him more - this just means hunter has a grandma that loves him to pieces!

more italy

after we spent four days at the castle for the wedding, we travelled to venice. it amazes me that we somehow managed to catch two busses, get on a train, and several water taxis to reach our hotel. i won't tell you how long it took us, though. : )

our first sights as we arrived there.

a canal in murano. murano is a small island 1 mile north of venice where we stayed. it was much cheaper there. murano has several glass factories. everything they sold was made of glass. really expensive glass.

a pretty gondola. no, that isn't us. it would've cost probably around $100/hour to take a ride. not worth it. instead we took water taxis everywhere...they only cost $30 for three whole days.

near the train station in venice.

i was going to add more but blogger is apparently really really slow right now. will show you more tomorrow!

p.s. i have to tell you about an awesome deal. click here to find out how to get $15 to spend at the kodak online gallery. i ordered 78 4x6 prints and 30 Christmas photo cards for $10 with the special coupon. then shipping was $6. so, for $16, i got 78 prints and 30 photo cards. that is a d-e-a-l.

italy...part 1

wow...where to begin? we were so thankful for the opportunity to go on this trip! the generosity of others often just blows my mind (a couple from our church paid for us to go to italy to sing in their wedding in venice). enough jabber...here are some pictures. we will call this part 1. more to come!

the northern italian town of belluno. kelly with our travel buddies, buster & sara.

at the castle after the wedding. kelly, carissa, sara & buster.

at the rehearsal dinner in an amazing italian restaurant. we had a 9 course dinner (yes, n-i-n-e!) the italians said that the way they pair their carbs and proteins keeps you from gaining weight. i hope they were right after a meal like that!

waiting to leave for the rehearsal dinner. this was in the lobby of the castle. if you look out the window you can see the town that the castle overlooks.

the castle chapel where the wedding took place. it was stunning! the photographer is going to give me a picture he took of kelly and i singing during the wedding. i can't wait to see it. i didn't really get any pics inside the chapel because we were busy when we were inside. we didn't even need sound equipment - the acoustics were amazing!

outside glimpse of the castle.

overlooking the town.

more to come tomorrow! : )