My Sister's Baby Shower

Saturday afternoon, I had the pleasure of co-hosting my sister's baby shower. We had an amazing time and I'm so happy with how everything turned out! My sister has been planning so much, it was nice to finally see it all come together. :)

A friend that I work with has a home that he rents out for events so I took advantage of his generosity and by the time we arrived, he had already set up the tables and chairs! Talk about service. All we had to do was decorate and set up the food. 

Heather chose a bird theme, or "nesting," so I crafted these bird cages for the centerpieces.

The favors were cookie and brownie mixes in mason jars. All the guests had to do when they got home was add butter and an egg then bake. These were definitely a labor of love to put together but they turned out so cute.

I can't show you a party without showing you the food, right? We had a big spread of brunch items and a number of tasty desserts. Cupcakes made by yours truly.

I had to get in a little self promotion, these bad boys were hard work!

Now, I know that baby showers are supposed to be for women only, but we had to let one little man attend. My cousin, Nicole, brought her sweet son, Brody and he was certainly the ladies man. No one could pass up a chance to hold him.

 My friend Angela, she's a natural! 

Natasha, who I'm pretty sure wanted to steal him. Baby snatcher!

After we all had our bellies full, it was time for some gift opening. My sister hit the jackpot, that's for sure, but I won't bore you with too many more pictures. 

One of my fave gifts from our friend Kristin. 

I really hope my sister enjoyed herself because I had a blast helping her plan the shower. Our amazing cousins Kristin and Nicole were a huge help and we couldn't have pulled it all off without them and the rest of our family. 

While the guests were eating, they got a chance to leave a little something for my future niece in the form of a quilt square. My sister plans to sew these pieces together to make a baby blanket.

The results were so cute! I can't wait to see how the quilt turns out. I know a lot of love went into them.

It went by so fast, by the time I even settled in to relax and enjoy the party, it seemed like it was time to clean up, pack up and head home. Guess we'll have to wait a few more months for the next baby shower... MINE!

Fun Fridays!

Happy Friday my friends! I don't know about you but I'm completely exhausted and am so ready for the weekend - and most importantly, my sister's baby shower. Tomorrow afternoon, we'll host about 40 people to celebrate the upcoming arrival of my sweet niece, appropriately nicknamed "Pippa." 

Tonight, in preparation, I'll finish baking and icing 60-some cupcakes, build and decorate a cupcake tower, finish other miscellaneous decorations including banners and centerpieces, then finally, I can relax with my cousins, Kristin, Nicole and her son Brody. So excited they're all coming and I can give that baby some kisses!

Speaking of babies, one of my best blogging pals Jennifer hounded me on twitter for some pregnancy pics. I figured I'd better post some because she's liable to stop being my friend and I just don't think I could handle that right now. (Dragon needs her night hawk!) Besides, it's been a while since I gave y'all an update so here goes. 

14 weeks preggo and in desperate need of a haircut.

How far along? 14 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 0 pounds since my last doc appointment.

How big is baby? About 3 1/2  inches, the size of a big lemon.

Maternity clothes? Yup. Only because they're WAYYY more comfy. See picture above. Those pants have spandex from hip to boob. Sexay.

Stretch Marks? Only old ones, no new ones from baby T.

Best moment this week? Last week I heard the babies heartbeat, pretty freakin cool. 

Movement? None from the baby anyway.

Food Cravings? Still pretty nauseous so I eat whatever sounds good. At the moment? Sierra mist and vegetable beef soup. Possibly followed by a cupcake. Maybe.  

What I miss: My working bathroom... but that's not about the baby. Just personal preference.

What I am looking forward to:   My sisters baby shower so I can take tips on what to do/not to do for my own!

Nausea/Vomiting?: Still nauseous almost every day but the vomiting seems to have subsided. 

Labor signs? Nope

Gender? Jury is still out.

Belly Button in or out? Innie for life. I hope.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Sleep? All the time. I want to nap every day, all day.

Weekly Wisdom: Note to self: no matter how busy you get... eat! If you skip lunch, you're guaranteed to get sick. 

And just because, here's a closer view of my bump. It's tiny, but it's definitely there. Can't suck in that thing any more! 

Have a great weekend my loves! Hope Hurricane Irene passes through and doesn't harm the coast too much, praying for my daddy since he'll be in the thick of it.

 

Quickie Weekend Recap

How has almost a week gone by since I last blogged?! Shame on me. I promise, I have really good excuses for being MIA, swears. I'm sure you have decided to shun me but if you continue to read, I'll let you in on what's been happening in my crazy life.

• The county fair was last week and I gorged myself on burgers, cotton candy and caramel apples Friday night.
  
• Saturday morning, the hubs and I  worked on the bathroom and finally got the shower working! The room isn't complete yet but at least I don't have to run all over God's green earth just to take a bath.
  
• I've been having nightmares about said bathroom. This project better be finished soon, my brain just can't take it.
  
• Saturday night, I went to my sister's house to help her finish the favors for her baby shower. Our friend Kristin came over to help and we finally got all 50 favors done by 10 pm. Cue exhaustion.
  
• Sunday I was feeling pretty rotten but got my lazy ass off the couch to go to my nieces annual "Back to School Tea Party." I'm glad I went because we always end up having a blast.
  
• Sunday evening, I went to dinner with my best girlfriends and again, I'm so glad I went because two hours of gossip and wedding/baby talk is good for the soul. 
• 
  
• Finally, I was home last night in time to catch True Blood and the finale of the Glee Project.
  Priorities my friends. Priorities.

What fun did you get into this weekend??

Bathroom Update

I know what you're here for, I bragged about our weekend project with the high hopes that it would be close to finished by now. Well, you know how those renovation projects go and we're now going on day four without a shower.

Friday night, Kevin tore out absolutely all of the drywall in the bathroom. The paint had peeled so badly, it wasn't even worth trying to save. After he did that, we were left with literally nothing but studs.

And yes, that is a window where our shower used to be. The previous owners converted the covered porch into a bathroom but decided it'd be too much trouble to take the windows out, so here we are, left with how to cover this giant window and still fit our shower surround over it. That's a problem for Kevin to solve. I'm merely the picture-taker of this whole project. Well, I did pick out the new vanity and toilet. That means I contributed right?

So, as of today, the bathroom looks slightly better than the picture above but still not finished and still without a working shower. My poor sister will have me showering at her house for the rest of the week if this project doesn't get a move on.

Fingers crossed Kevin and his pal Tim get the drywall up tonight and my shower installed. Properly installed, might I add. Neither of them are plumbers. Or carpenters. Or electricians.

Pray for me?

Fun Fridays!

To join in and share your fun plans for the weekend, click below and head to Jen's blog to link up!

Thank goodness it's Friday my friends! I've got a very busy weekend planned but unfortunately, it won't be the most fun. A little sweat and a lot of hard work will go into finishing our bathroom this weekend and I'm more than excited to finally complete the project we started forever ago. 

We don't have everything cleared out quite yet but let me give you a sneak peak at what our before looks like:

Notice the teeny tiny blue sink from 1820, with zero counter space. Notice the attractive fake tile paneling that I've nearly destroyed in anger. And yes, that would be an alarm clock to the bottom right, how else would I know I'm late for work?

I know that doesn't give you much of an idea of what we're working with but trust me, the best is yet to come. Pray for me this weekend as I tackle this giant project with my husband. If we're still married when this is over, we did good.

What are your plans for the weekend? :)

Weekend Recap (3 days late)

First off, let me apologize for my extended absence. After the long, relaxing weekend, my brain and body were just not ready for the chaotic week that work would throw at me. I feel like I say that every day but this is the first week of registration for the school I work at. Meaning, I can't check in with you lovely folks as often as I used too. Hopefully you forgive me if I update you on what's been going on in my life.

Friday afternoon, I hopped in the car and headed to Virginia Beach to hang out with some pretty awesome ladies and lay on the beach. Each day, we did our usual daily sunbathing and would then shower, primp and head out to dinner. Twice to the Taphouse (one of our faves) and on the last night, to a bar and grill off 19th street. It could very well have been named The 19th Street Bar and Grill. Don't take my word on that though.

Jackie, Kristin, Megan, Laura, Heather and my (very puffy) self.

We had a blast and are already planning next years trip. Fingers crossed we can go sometime in the Fall, minus the new babies.

Speaking of babies, I figured you might be wanting an update on that too? No? Yes? Don't care? Well, I'm giving you one whether you like it or not. Only because it's the only thing on my mind these days and this baby seems to be sucking the life out of me. (Dramatic. I know.)

Ten Weeks Preggers.

Technically, I'm 12 weeks pregnant today and can't sit down comfortably with my pants buttoned but in the picture, I'm 10 weeks and just starting to notice some tightness is my clothes.

If you follow me on twitter, you'll notice I haven't had the most comfortable pregnancy so far. Some women boast about having zero nausea during pregnancy and I'm completely envious of them. I've been sick since the day I found out, some days worse than others. I finally broke down and asked my doctor for a prescription because I couldn't keep down water or bread on Monday. Most days I can keep the sickness under control if I munch on crackers or peanuts every few hours but when it gets bad, it gets REAL bad. 

Onto a lighter note, if you want to know, my fetus is the size of a lime and has fingernails. I know this because I've watched Juno one too many times. Also, my Droid app tells me the same thing. My sister keeps telling me I should read actual books to learn about pregnancy, guess I should get on that.

And if you are really bored and want to keep reading, here are a few facts about my pregnancy so far. Stolen from my fellow mom-to-be Sara:

How far along? 12 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: +2 pounds. 

How big is baby? About 2 1/2  inches, the size of a small lime.

Maternity clothes? Nope. Not yet. The help of a hair band or my belly band help with keeping my normal pants up.

Stretch Marks? Nope

Best moment this week? Getting prescription drugs to help with vomiting. That's about it.

Movement? None from the baby anyway.

Food Cravings? When I can eat, El Charros tacos. And orange soda. 

What I miss: Being able to suck in my stomach. And booze. No, I'm not an alcoholic. It's just really hot outside and I want a Corona.

What I am looking forward to: Getting my baby bump instead of looking like I ate too much for lunch.  

Nausea/Vomiting?: Every day. All day. We've gone over this...

Labor signs? Nope

Gender? Jury is still out.

Belly Button in or out? Innie for life. I hope.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Sleep? Pretty well, although I'd like more of it. I'm exhausted.

Weekly Wisdom: Eat what you can, when you can. Whatever sounds good is usually all I can eat. Which means I'm surviving on peanut butter and El Charro's tacos. 

Fun Fridays!

 To join in on the fun and share the fun you have planned for the weekend, click below and head over to Jen's blog and link up!

After another long, crazy week at work, I'm definitely ready for some R&R this weekend. A few girlfriends and I are headed down to Virginia Beach for a couple days to soak up the sun and eat our fill of fresh seafood. 

It's starting to become an annual tradition because we did the same thing last summer, only this time, my sister and I will both be pregnant, leaving the real fun to the other girls. 

Bishes.

I'm envious already! My sister and I will have fun regardless. :)

Then, when I get back from the beach, we'll FINALLY get started on the demo in our bathroom! Guess it means I'm really a grown up when I get excited about a home renovation project, huh?

What do you have in store for the weekend??

It's Britney Bitch

This weekend flew by in a whirlwind of glitter, lights, Shirley Temples and serious shopping. And I'm not complaining! My girlfriends and I had an absolute blast at the Britney Spears concert, even if we were four stories up.

We left for DC around noon and checked into our hotel around 2:30, giving up plenty of time to nap and catch some Shark Week before heading out to the concert. We ended up staying at the Hamilton Crowne Plaza, thanks to Michelle who pulled some strings and got us a great deal. The place was very nice and within walking distance to the concert venue so it was a win-win for us.

Once we rested up, we were ready to hit the streets and head towards the Verizon Center. We stopped along the way for some burgers at the Green Turtle and after the girls had a few daiquiris, we were ready to dance the night away with Britney and Nicki Minaj.

 Michelle and Angie, petrified of how high up we were. Until the Bud Light kicked in. ;)

Lindsey, and myself, ready for B. Spears. 

The only halfway decent picture of Nicki Minaj I have.

After Nicki Minaj opened, the crowd went absolutely nuts for Britney. She sang about 5 or so new songs to start out with, which I have never heard, but when Hit Me Baby One More Time started, the audience had a whole new vibe. Every single person was on their feet and was singing along. This was the Britney we knew and loved! The show was amazing. Next time, we'll definitely be springing for the good seats. ;)

Oh, and I can't forget! Look who I ran into at the concert.

I knew my girl Megan would be there but with over 5000 people, I never guessed I'd actually find her!

Loved seeing you boo! 

After the concert, we decided we'd head in the direction of our hotel while trying to find a cab. Needless to say, we ended up back in our room before ever seeing an available taxi. Then, it was more Shark Week, a pizza from a rude delivery man, and then bed. 

Monday morning, we all got up, showered and headed to the outlets to do some much needed shopping. After several hours of trying on clothes, trying not to spend our hard earned money in Vera Bradley, we were all exhausted and ready to head home. 

It was an amazing weekend with my amazing BFF's and I can't wait until next time. :)