I'm a proud aunt!

Guys, I missed Glee last night, can someone fill me in? I promise you I was out and about doing very important things... like waiting on the arrival of my new niece, who finally decided to make an appearance at 11:47 last night. My poor sister's water broke early in the morning, 7ish, and very slowly progressed. Baby girl decided to take her time but she is certainly worth the wait!

Quorra Noelle weighs 6 pounds 9 ounces and is 18 1/2 inches long sporting a full head of hair.

Momma Heather is on the right, next to proud poppa, Romeo (pronounce Roe-may-oh, FYI) next to her. 

Then, there's me. A hot mess... minus the hot.
Unless you like greasy hair, gym sweat and puffy-ugly-cry-face.
Next to me is Romeo's brother, Angelo. 

I couldn't contain my excitement, I'll admit that I cried when my sister called on her way to the hospital. I cried when I got the picture text from her husband with their new baby. I cried when I held her. And... I might have cried on the way home, alone in my car when a sappy country song came on the radio.

Blame it on the hormones. 

Alas, my turn to pop out a baby will be here soon. In the meantime, I'll spoil little Quorra rotten. Love you baby girl! Happy birthday from your Aunt Jessica.  :)

What I've been up to!

Did ya miss me? Things have been quite busy around here and I figured it was about time to fill you all in on what I've been up to.

Friday afternoon, I hit the road and headed East to visit one of my best friends, Katie, for the weekend. Fun fact: Katie just started her very first blog! She's a pre-K teacher and thought it would be a great way to keep parents etc. informed of what's going on in her classroom. Check her out if you want, teachymarie.blogspot.com.

While I was visiting her, I got to start my baby registry at Babies R Us. Even though I don't know the gender of the little bean yet, it was still fun to go around the store with the little barcode zapper.

Saturday night, her friend Amanda met up with us and we went to have a few drinks (none for me!) at their local watering hole.

We had an excellent time and I even got to witness my first bar fight. Although, when I re-tell the story, I might have to embellish and tell folks I was IN the bar fight. You know, pregnant and kicking ass.

All in all, it was another great weekend and the week just keeps getting better... my sister is currently en route to the hospital and my new baby niece could possibly be here today!

Moving on to yummier things, I'm linking up with Neely and Brunch with Amber to share something sweet with you since today's topic is Fall recipe's!

Last night I gave in and made these delicious pumpkin muffins that we've all seen on Pinterest. Supposedly, all you need is one can of pumpkin and one box of cake mix to create some delicious muffins. I know, I was skeptical too...

{via}

Well, I'm here to tell you that it works! The original recipe uses a golden cake mix but I wanted to change things up and use a spice cake mix and I'm so glad that I did. It gave the muffins the perfect amount of flavor to go with that yummy pumpkin.  

{via}

At first, you might get worried (I did) that the batter won't mix together properly, but luckily, you're (my) patience will be rewarded. It will be pretty thick but it's the perfect consistency to dip into your little muffin tin. 

I baked mine at 330 for 30 minutes, since my oven tends to get hotter than others, and they turned out perfectly. If only I had remembered to bring them to work today for my office peeps to enjoy. Blast!

Happy Tuesday my loves! It's almost the middle of the week, woot!

How do I know my dog is spoiled?

1. His shampoo costs $17. Mine costs $2.99

2. His breakfast is a mixture of hot water, dry dog food and wet dog food. Most mornings I eat a Fiber One bar.

3. He steals the pillows. Leaving me with none.

4. He gets his hair cut every 6-8 weeks. I get mine cut every 6-8 months.

5. He gets to sleep all day. No fair.

That little stinker is lucky he's cute! Otherwise I'd be jealous of him. ;)

Fall has...Fallen?

Most of you have already posted your favorite things about Fall but it didn't really hit me that it was actually here until I woke up to 41 degrees on my cars thermostat. I gave in and turned on our little propane heater last night which I'm thankful for because it was just enough to keep the chill out this morning.

Since my birthday is in October, I'm particularly fond of Autumn and although I'm a beach bunny at heart, I tend to dislike anything that makes me hot and sweaty. I'm a huge fan of crisp mornings and sunny 70 degree afternoons. You'll rarely find me walking Bodie on a muggy summer day but if there's a chill in the air, you bet I'll be out with him in a big comfy sweatshirt.

I was really trying to wait until October 1st to get out all my Fall decor but I'm not so sure I can wait. It didn't take much convincing from Jacin that it was definitely time to crack out the pumpkin Yankee candles,

{http://www.yankeecandle.com/}

And again, I didn't need to be persuaded too much from KM to give in and order the Hunter boots I'd been drooling over from Gilt Group.

{www.hunter-boot.com}

I've been wanting a pair of Hunter wellies since they were last featured on Gilt about a year ago (I'm guessing) and have been patiently waiting for them to show up again. Yesterday, I wasn't paying any attention to the emails on my phone but noticed a ton of my Twitter pals gabbing about the sale. I immediately jumped online and snatched a pair in brown, which was one of the few colors left, in a size 7. Keep your fingers crossed they actually fit my normally 8 1/2 size foot. I'm told they do run large - but heck, if they don't fit, I'll just sell 'em on ebay and get a pair that actually fits. ;)

What are you looking forward to this Fall!?

Week 16 Update!

It's been a while since I've given you a pregnancy update so I figured I'd let you know how my little bean is coming along!

How far along? 16+ Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I'll find out tomorrow for sure, hoping my weight didn't jump too much this month since my baby doesn't want anything but baked potatoes. Ok, that's a lie. I love potatoes. So sue me. 

How big is baby? About 4 1/2 inches, the size of an avacado but the bean will double in size in the next few weeks.

Maternity clothes? Yup. Mostly just maternity pants and some of my normal tops. They still fit and I'm not afraid to "flaunt" my bump. ;) 

Stretch Marks? Only old ones, no new ones from baby T as far as I can tell. 

Best moment this week?  I only barfed once in the last week. Progress! 

Movement? Um, I can't tell. I'm told that I should feel butterflies any time now and sometimes I think I feel something but then I burp and it goes away. So, who knows. 

Food Cravings? I don't call them cravings because I still like a lot of the foods I used to and haven't wanted anything super crazy. Since I've been sick a lot, potatoes, soup and toast have made up most of my diet lately. However, this week I've been dying for some fried chicken. Mmm.  

What I miss: My energy. Supposedly this is supposed to come back in the second trimester but it hasn't happened yet for me. I go home and crash most days after dinner and then crawl in bed around 9:30. Why do you think I'm not blogging as much? They would go like this "weekend recap: slept, watched Friends, ate, slept."

What I am looking forward to:  Eating real food again like my smoothies in the morning and salads for lunch. They sound super disgusting to me right now and that makes me sad. 

Nausea/Vomiting?: Still nauseous almost every day but mostly when I need to eat. Luckily, the vomiting only rears it's ugly head about once a week now. 

Labor signs? Nope

Gender? Hoping to find out next month!

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

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Sleep? Can't get enough. Wish I could sneak off and nap in the server room. It's cool and dark back there. Zzzzz.

Weekly Wisdom: Every pregnancy is different. What one woman experiences may be completely different than the next. I wish I was one of the lucky ladies that has zero sickness and only gains 10 pounds (like my neighbor.Ugh) but I'm loving it regardless. I know the end result will be worth it!! 

The Bathroom Saga: Before and ALMOST After!

Alright kiddos, you asked, so here they are. The bathroom pics!

The reason I never shared the "before" bathroom pictures with you is because, quite frankly, I am so embarrassed by them, I wanted to wait until I had a normal bathroom to show you and finally, I do! Well, almost. And it's about time I give up the goods, dontcha think?

First off, the before. The awful, mold infested, paint-peeling-off-the-wall and fake linoleum before pictures.

Ahh, that beautiful blue toilet. I do not miss thee. Or your torn vinyl seat that scratched my bum. And that paint peeling off the wall? (See there in the top corner?) I don't miss you either.

Another view of the blue toilet and the hideous brown heating element. Oh, and don't forget that ugly bear rug that had become permanently attached to the equally ugly linoleum. That's right, after years and years of being in the same spot, that rug has become one with the linoleum. May I remind you that this was all before I moved in. I would have moved that rug ASAP if I could have.

Now for the good stuff. See above the tiny blue sink, measuring a whopping 12"x12", the shower that wasn't properly installed (if you look closely, you can see the yellow caulk on the rear wall and the rust along the edges of the tub) and the mold on the ceiling.

All gone. Torn out. Removed. Trashed.

Here's an even better picture of the sink and the fake blue tile that was on the wall behind it. As you can tell, someone (me) might have gotten mad one day and attempted to rip that paneling/wallpaper crap off. Much to my dismay, the stuff was stuck on good.

Now that you have an idea of what I've been living with and hating for the last year, here's some shots of the in-process work. We Kevin tore everything out, down to the studs, and started from scratch.

At this point, the bathroom was deemed off limits to me, the pregnant one, but that didn't stop me from snapping a few pics while Kevin was at Lowe's for the fifteenth time. I'm pretty sure we own part of that store now. Every time Kevin went to go fiddle with the plumbing, something went wrong. The pipe under the shower had to be cut off, the water lines on the sink weren't long enough and the welds were so old, he had to do some damage control under the house. I don't envy him because by "under the house" I mean a teeny tiny crawl space that he's lucky he still fits into. (My pregnancy cravings aren't good for either of our waistlines!) Then, on Sunday night, when he was installing the new toilet, the recieving line didn't fit the new commode so he had to run to Wal-Mart at 11 at night praying they had what he needed. Thankfully, they did otherwise we would have been pottyless all night.

Have I mentioned this is our only bathroom? So for two weeks, my poor sister had to deal with me begging to use her shower on a daily basis. I owe ya sis.

And now, what you've all been waiting on, the almost after pictures!!

The new (larger!) sink and mirror. I couldn't find a medicine cabinet to match the dark espresso brown vanity, so we went with a mirror. Hubs wasn't too crazy about this idea so we compromised and added a cabinet above the toilet for more storage.

I told you the bathroom is still in process, so ignore the tools but notice the pretty white toilet and my lovely floors I worked so hard on! I know my hard work doesn't compare to the blood, sweat and angry tears my sweet husband put into this bathroom but dammit, that floor is my baby.

The new shower, complete with see-through shower liner which will soon be replaced. We have one of those fancy curved curtain rods that Kevin has been coveting so I know he's itching to get it up and see how it looks.

And finally, the throne with cabinet above. Again, ignore all the tools and unfinished work, we have a little bit of work left to do but we're so close, I can't wait to show you guys the final product.

A few of the things we hope to get done in the next few days:

• Cut, paint and attach the trim around the window and floors
• Pick out curtains and install those
• Put up towel bars, curtain rod and other accessories
• Touch up paint 
• Caulk around the floor of the bathtub

So all in all, very minimal work. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

And in case you're not over loaded with pictures already, I'll leave you with a few side by side shots of the before and after bathroom.

I'm in love.

Convertible to baby-hauler

Happy Monday err, Tuesday that is! Hope you all got a chance to rest up and enjoy the long weekend. Our household was very busy these last few days and I really wish I had remembered to take pictures of what's been going on but you'll just have to bear with me. Pinky promise I'll be back tomorrow with some excellent before and after pics of our bathroom progress.

Saturday, Kevin finally finished painting the bathroom and on Sunday, we tore out the old linoleum and I re-tiled the floor with some self-stick vinyl tiles. I'm pleasantly surprised with how they turned out and can't wait for the entire room to come together. All we have to do now is put some trim around the windows and the floor, seal the tile and put up our new towel bars and shower curtain rod.

Not only did the hubs and I work on the bathroom this weekend but we finally gave in and traded my hardtop convertible

{Source: Google images from VW.com}

for an ultra cool baby hauler. 

{Source: Google images for Ford.com}

I'm none too happy about the switch. As much of a pain in the ass my VW Eos convertible was, (countless annoying problems with oil leaks, water leaks and electrical problems) I really loved that car. Now I'm in a 2008 Ford Escape and I feel like I'm towering over all the other vehicles on the road. 

Kevin, on the other hand, is pretty happy about the change. I'm now in a 4 wheel drive vehicle, which is better in the snow and gives him peace of mind, plus, it's slower. I might have a little bit of a lead foot and the turbo in my convertible was getting me in big trouble. Two speeding tickets within one year of each other? Yeah, I'm pretty sure Kevin will be sending me to driving school. Bummer. 

What'd you do this weekend!? Anything fun? :)