Weekend Recap: Lake George

We had the pleasure of accompanying really close friends of ours to Lake George for the weekend. I was honored that they invited us because they are a tight knit family and they consider us as such and invited us along for their weekend getaway. My son was thrilled because he loves their children and always looks forward to playing with them despite their age difference (around 8 years and less). I love it because they are old enough to not have to watch them like a hawk and the older two care for him so much.

Our rooms were suite style with a full kitchen and a grill outside our room. So we spent no money on food except the groceries we bought.

Okay, I take that back.

I had a craving for ice cream so we did make our way to Ben & Jerry's...twice. Don't judge me. We had such a good time relaxing with our friends, watching the kids enjoy themselves, and even listening to the stories/advice that their parents had for us. It was 10 people in total but it never felt like too many, but always just right. Hubby and I loved it so much we want to make plans to go back with our nuclear family.

So, here are a few pictures from that weekend. I wish we lived closer because there is so much that we didn't get to do. This was my first time at Lake George and I was pleasantly surprised by what it has to offer.

5 on friday: If I had a baby shower

Still excited about yesterday's post, I decided to share a few baby shower ideas of my own! I'm pretty sure I mentioned in a previous post that hubby and I are opting not to do a second shower. Traditionally, etiquette dictates that a mother-to-be only gets one. Modern etiquette experts have now declared that a second shower is acceptable for babies of the opposite sex, and siblings born more than a few (I forgot the number) years apart. While we are having a baby of the opposite sex, we still decided not to.

I have been pinning baby shower ideas since my first pregnancy, then kept pinning because my bestie was pregnant and I knew that I would be helping to plan hers. Then I kept pinning with the hopes that one of my cousins would get pregnant so we could throw her a baby shower (none of my cousins are currently pregnant as far as I know). Now, I'm pinning because party themes are becoming more and more unique and coming together so lovely. Plus, now that i'm having a little girl of my own- I might just be storing these in my back pocket for future use (for her should she decide to have children).

Follow From Mrs.'s board Baby Shower likes on Pinterest.

I think my favorite theme is the "mama-to-bee". Despite my dislike for bugs, I think it's adorable. It's a neutral tone which make it great for parents who opt to find out the gender of their little one in the delivery room rather than the ultrasound room (or in my case- on the front porch). There's so much you can do with this theme to make it your own- the food, decor, and party favor options are endless!

Speaking of food- food presentation is a pretty big deal now. Cakes and  cupcakes are becoming a work of art with an edible bonus. I love how these items incorporates the theme and leaves guests wowed! I've always loved a good desert table. My love affair started with the candy buffet that we had at our wedding and it hasn't ended since. Desert tables also make really great decor centerpieces.

Decor is always a focal point of any party theme. It kind of ties it altogether. The theme starts with the invitation and ends with the parting favors, and the decor rounds out the middle. You can choose to have one show stopping piece of sprinkle it throughout the room.

I am personally not a fan of baby shower games, especially if you are in a a room full of people you don't know very well. I've attended baby showers with my mom for her co-workers daughter-in-law (confused?!) which meant I only knew 3 people in the room. That wasn't that fun. Some games are designed to embarrass the contestant a little too much- who gets a kick out of that?! Anyway, one of the games we played at my bestie's shower (2 years ago) was a game I've dubbed "waiting for labor". We froze itty bitty babies in ice cubes and gave one to each guest. As the ice melts the baby is 'freed' the first person whose baby is completely free yells "my water broke!" and they win a prize. I like it because there's not too much involved in terms of unscrambling words, quickly trying o change a diaper while blindfolded, or eating unknown baby food. It promotes casual conversation and even grandma (who may or may not be able to participate in the fast paced games) can participate! I originally got this idea from my brother's best friend's baby shower and will be using it at any shower I host from here on out.

Maybe I can use these ides to host a sip and see for baby girl once she's here. Since we no longer live near our family and friends, it would be a good way for them to meet the baby!

A celebration for baby girl!

One Friday afternoon, my co-workers "surprised" me with a small shower for our baby girl. I say "surprised" because I knew the date- I just didn't know what to expect. I work in an office with 9 women and absolutely no testosterone except by the way of our work-study students and we are all about our celebrations. We usually have "food fests" for some holidays where everyone bring in a dish to share and we sit around for a bit a pig out. Since I've started working there, we've had the pleasure of celebrating a Master's degree graduation and another baby shower. We will also be celebrating a wedding early this fall (or really late summer, whatever). Plus we have our annual Christmas luncheon at a local restaurant. So we are no strangers to celebrations. It's not quite like at my old job where we used to do it once a month (to celebrate those born that month) but it's still a way to bring some fun into the office.

The ladies took their inspiration from one of our "announcement" pictures and it was sooooo adorable! I certainly didn't expect this and was pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my "big girl" camera (cause I really didn't expect this) so all of these are from my phone.

It was a superhero theme with a female twist! My son LOVES superhero's and there are times when he insists that we call him by his superhero name and he even has his own super powers. I don't know why I didn't think of my little girl as a superhero as well. I know girls likes superheros too but it just never occurred to me that she might like them too. It was an awesome theme- I loved it!

Each of my co-workers wrote out wishes or super powers for our little girl. The link provided is a recap of all the super powers they gave her. I really hope she ends up with many of these...

Then of course there were games. We played 'name that baby' because well... our little girl still doesn't have a name yet. Everyone wrote their  name suggestions and I had to guess which person suggested it. That was harder than I thought! And there were lots of similar names too, many of which are derived from our grandparent's names (which they requested to know before hand). And we ended up with some really cute suggestions! And as you can see I only got 3 correct... shameful, LOL!

A few other things that happened- my shower got 'Baumed'. While I know that makes no sense and means absolutely nothing to you all (nor do I need to explain the story cause you wouldn't care) but I thought I'd write that down for prosperity. He gave his name suggestions of Evelyn and Catherine (maybe it was Caroline) after his grandmother's (awwww!). I wish I would have gotten a picture because that would've made the best photo bomb reference ever!

- My husband did get a chance to come by which I was very very happy about. This guy is quite the charmer and had everyone cracking up with his Batman 'through the movies' impersonations. He does a pretty funny Christian Bale as Batman. He was super sick but came anyway (he said the short walk across campus nearly did him in) and for that I'm grateful (and still in love).

-We had lunch at one of the local restaurants that I had never been to. When they made the reservations they indicated that they had gluten free breads and pastas available but when we got there they only had gluten free penne (two of us are gluten free). One of the girls who made the reservations felt awful. I kept telling her not to worry about it (because we both still ate) but she really felt bad. I keep reminding her that she isn't the kitchen manager at that place and it wasn't her fault!

-We were gifted a few lovely items including a new stroller. I really wasn't expecting that! We are so grateful that they thought enough of us to purchase such a large gift. I was floored. And did I mention grateful?!

- I didn't want to cut my cake. If I had my way it would still be intact, LOL! It was so cute but there was something disturbing about cutting into a pregnant belly!


Here a small picture video recap. When I say small, I mean small. I didn't want it to be overwhelmingly long because who wants to sit through that?!

MTM: Summer Fun

Yesterday was the Summer Solstice of 2015. This sounds incredibly geeky but I always wanted to have a summer solstice party a la Real Housewives of one of those cities. Since it's officially summer here are 5 tips to to keep in mind during these summer months:

1. Sunscreen: If you are going to be outdoors for any length of time it goes without saying- use sunscreen! Whether at the park or at the pool, it's a good idea to apply and reapply. Did you know that the SPF numbers are not proportionate to the amount of protection provided? For example, a SPF of 30 is not twice as protective as an SPF of 15; rather, when properly used, an SPF of 15 protects the skin from 93 percent of UVB radiation, and an SPF 30 sunscreen provides 97 percent protection.1

2. Hydration.  Staying hydrated is really important in the heat. To help keep my family hydrated I give them designated water bottles w/ ice at bottom. This allows them to keep track of whose water is whose, and keeps in cooler longer. I add water to their bottles about 1/3 full then pop it in the freezer the night before. When needed, I can take the bottles out the freeze and add fresh water to it. This keeps the water cooler as the ice melts. I know they make fancy water bottles with ice sticks in the middle of them now but I’m more inclined to use what I have now.

3. Stay cool. This goes without saying. Avoiding overheating is important as the temperatures continue to climb. When out at amusement parks, you will find misting stations (which I love) to help keep park goers cool. Since I don’t have a mister in my backyard I opted for a water table. I’ve honestly wanted my little guy to have one for quite some time. I finally bit the bullet and bought one that was on sale at babies R us. This is great for summer days where he can play alongside of us on the deck or we can even move it to the backyard area when the neighbor’s children come over to play.

4. Water safety: During the summer months we tend to enjoy more water play (see #3). Before my son’s first official swimming lesson, the swim center where he would be taking lessons mandated that we have a coast guard approved life jacket. I didn’t know that life jackets could be coast guard approved. I didn’t grow up doing many water activities. I took swim lessons around age 5 but stopped. At summer day camp we did go to the pool once per week- I know that I stayed in the shallow end for sure. And since then laws have changed. At my son’s current school, state laws dictate that they cannot be around standing water more than a certain depth. It essentially rules out everything except a water table and sprinklers. They can’t even have a slip and slide. Also did you know that children ages 1 to 4 have the highest drowning rates ²?! Sound the alarm- because I seriously didn’t know that. I also didn’t know that there were different types of life vests/jackets (which are properly called personal flotation devices). For example there are offshore life jackets, near shore buoyant vests, etc. I mentioned all that confusing stuff to say: Find out the water safety rules for wherever your headed- whether it’s a day at the lake or an afternoon at a pool, be prepared (especially when boating) with the right water safe equipment.

5. Don’t forget your pets! I’ll admit, we don’t have a pet nor have I ever had anything more than a fish in a lowly plastic bowl. But I do realize that pets are an important part of the family for more families. But my lack of experience leaves me with a lack of knowledge on pet safety during the summer, although I’m sure it isn’t too far off from humans. I recently over heard one of my coworkers saying she was going to get her aging dog some dog shoes. After the funny looks she explained that he was really sensitive to the hot pavement and wanted to protect his paws. I’m sure that’s a no brainer for dog owners but it would’ve never occurred to me that maybe the pavement might be too hot for their paws! So, while keeping your family safe is a top priority don’t forget about your fur family too!

Resources 

1.         EPA.2.gov

2.       CDC.gov

MTM: Summer Fun

Yesterday was the Summer Solstice of 2015. This sounds incredibly geeky but I always wanted to have a summer solstice party a la Real Housewives of one of those cities. Since it's officially summer here are 5 tips to to keep in mind during these summer months:

1. Sunscreen: If you are going to be outdoors for any length of time it goes without saying- use sunscreen! Whether at the park or at the pool, it's a good idea to apply and reapply. Did you know that the SPF numbers are not proportionate to the amount of protection provided? For example, a SPF of 30 is not twice as protective as an SPF of 15; rather, when properly used, an SPF of 15 protects the skin from 93 percent of UVB radiation, and an SPF 30 sunscreen provides 97 percent protection.1

2. Hydration.  Staying hydrated is really important in the heat. To help keep my family hydrated I give them designated water bottles w/ ice at bottom. This allows them to keep track of whose water is whose, and keeps in cooler longer. I add water to their bottles about 1/3 full then pop it in the freezer the night before. When needed, I can take the bottles out the freeze and add fresh water to it. This keeps the water cooler as the ice melts. I know they make fancy water bottles with ice sticks in the middle of them now but I’m more inclined to use what I have now.

3. Stay cool. This goes without saying. Avoiding overheating is important as the temperatures continue to climb. When out at amusement parks, you will find misting stations (which I love) to help keep park goers cool. Since I don’t have a mister in my backyard I opted for a water table. I’ve honestly wanted my little guy to have one for quite some time. I finally bit the bullet and bought one that was on sale at babies R us. This is great for summer days where he can play alongside of us on the deck or we can even move it to the backyard area when the neighbor’s children come over to play.

4. Water safety: During the summer months we tend to enjoy more water play (see #3). Before my son’s first official swimming lesson, the swim center where he would be taking lessons mandated that we have a coast guard approved life jacket. I didn’t know that life jackets could be coast guard approved. I didn’t grow up doing many water activities. I took swim lessons around age 5 but stopped. At summer day camp we did go to the pool once per week- I know that I stayed in the shallow end for sure. And since then laws have changed. At my son’s current school, state laws dictate that they cannot be around standing water more than a certain depth. It essentially rules out everything except a water table and sprinklers. They can’t even have a slip and slide. Also did you know that children ages 1 to 4 have the highest drowning rates ²?! Sound the alarm- because I seriously didn’t know that. I also didn’t know that there were different types of life vests/jackets (which are properly called personal flotation devices). For example there are offshore life jackets, near shore buoyant vests, etc. I mentioned all that confusing stuff to say: Find out the water safety rules for wherever your headed- whether it’s a day at the lake or an afternoon at a pool, be prepared (especially when boating) with the right water safe equipment.

5. Don’t forget your pets! I’ll admit, we don’t have a pet nor have I ever had anything more than a fish in a lowly plastic bowl. But I do realize that pets are an important part of the family for more families. But my lack of experience leaves me with a lack of knowledge on pet safety during the summer, although I’m sure it isn’t too far off from humans. I recently over heard one of my coworkers saying she was going to get her aging dog some dog shoes. After the funny looks she explained that he was really sensitive to the hot pavement and wanted to protect his paws. I’m sure that’s a no brainer for dog owners but it would’ve never occurred to me that maybe the pavement might be too hot for their paws! So, while keeping your family safe is a top priority don’t forget about your fur family too!

Resources 

1.         EPA.2.gov

2.       CDC.gov

33

My parent's relationship is the very first example I have of a marriage. I don't remember much about when I was younger but as I've grown I've come to learn how (and how not) a good working relationship looks like. Being in a country where the divorce rate was is so high, I've drawn upon their past experiences to make better and informed decisions about my own. This is not to say that we do everything that they do/have done or that their relationship is perfect- but what it is, is filled with love, respect, and the definition of a partnership.

I pray that they will continue to grow in their relationship and continue to learn and be exemplary to others. I have often heard other people say they look up to my parent's relationship and that it a wonderful thing. So, I want to take a moment to wish my parents a Happy 33rd Anniversary!!!



  And they are coming to visit us this weekend- I am looking forward to it!  

It's a......!

For our first baby we decided (with lots of reluctance from hubby) to remain team green. I had a number of reasons for doing so- some of which included advice from others. I know they are well meaning as people tend to draw upon their own experiences when giving advice but sometimes advice is not what's needed. I also opted to remain team green because I had intentions of reusing a lots of baby items to reduce costs down the road. Therefore, gender neutral items mean we an reuse items and my future son wouldn't be swinging in a pink swing or vice versa. Of course the fact that we even have these items to begin with is a blessing but I'd rather it not look silly nonetheless.  As a result we have a ton of great items to reuse this time around.

I also liked the suspense of finding out who would be joining our family in the delivery room. And I quite honestly didn't understand the stand point of "I'm a planner so I need to know". There wasn't a single thing that I didn't have planned ahead of time before my son was born. Not one single thing. And I also liked seeing how many people would be wrong or right when guessing baby's gender. We had a pretty even split of guess the first time around but the reasoning as to why some people guessed one gender over another was pretty funny. Especially those who determine their guess by the way a woman "carries" her pregnancy. So far everything has been identical so those people would sure guess boy this time around, right?!

This time around almost no one guessed boy. I think people want the ideal "one of each gender" for every couple as they deem this to be perfect- but all logic and reasoning goes out the window when you already have a child. Suddenly everyone seems to root for the opposite sex.

My husband and I opted out of having a second baby shower. It's just against all etiquette rules, plus we were really good at saving things from our first baby. But I still wanted to do some pre-birth festivities for this one. I am a chronic picture taker and my son has tons and tons of "baby" books already, so when this one looks back on life before his or her arrival he or she might think that we weren't happy to welcome them into the family. Or maybe they won't care.

After mulling it over for a while and going back and forth between a few ideas, we decided that we would do a small gender reveal with close family and find out along side them. However, planning such a feat was proving to be a bit more than I bargained for. My wish list was as such:

- Have "everyone " be present: I didn't want them to find out via text, email, or social media. You needed to be there.
- Announce/find out in a way that presents well in pictures. Cause you know I'm a chronic picture taker and it looks cute on social media announcements.
- Not make it too big of a deal. While everyone was sooooo exited for us- I realize that we aren't the first couple to have a baby, nor do a gender reveal.

So here's what ended up happening. I chose a date that "everyone" was most likely to be available around a time when doctors can check for baby's sex via ultrasound. Once I could find I - I wanted to know. I certainly didn't want to outshine a holy day but Easter Sunday fit the bill. I would be 22 weeks and have had my anatomy scan two weeks prior. That gave me enough time to order what ever it was that I was going to order for the reveal. I didn't want to do balloons in a box because everyone does that now. There's nothing wrong with it but I just didn't want something overdone. Plus that would be harder to pull off without someone "knowing". Also, my family would be together for Easter dinner and that would be over half the crowd who needed to be there. I reached out to my mother & sister in law and they were able to make it! So it was on!

I will admit I wanted fancy decorations, a themed dessert table, and to have everyone make an official guess before doing the big reveal- but it just didn't work out that way. It wasn't cost effective and there would be some other stuff going on that weekend that would have prevented me from being able to do all of that. So I just went with it. I sent out e-invitations and set up a potluck style dinner. Everyone responded and signed up for a dish. Since my parents were hosting ( as she tends to do with holiday events) it helps her out for everyone to bring a dish rather than having her cook everything for 20 people.

After church, my cousin & I set up my son's Easter egg hunt while my husband and father helped my mom set up in the kitchen. Then after the food was prepped and set up  everyone joined us outside.

After my family teased me about how easy I made the hunt (I really under estimated him) they headed back inside to continue to set the table, seating, etc.I was so so excited I was absolutely no help otherwise. Slowly but surely the rest of the family began to arrive. We had to wait until my cousin got off work (at 3 pm) to get started and it seems like it took him forever to get there! He swore to me that he would be there by 3:30, so I was outside promptly at 3:30 waiting for him to turn the corner but nope. Not until about 45 minutes later. I thought I was gonna pass out. As soon as I saw the front bumper of his car turn the corner I made everyone head outside for the big reveal.

The weather wasn't terribly bad but it was a little chilly once the sun went behind the clouds. Also I opted to do this outside because I figured clean up would be easier (the verdict is still out on that one).

Then finally, the moment arrived- everyone was here, in place, and ready to find out. I was nervous and excited as all get out. I'm so excited to say IT'S A.....

I made a 15 second video of the moment we found out. Check it out! We are so happy to welcome a baby girl into our family!!!

Mother's Day 2015 recap

I always enjoy Mother's Day- even before I became a Mom myself. And since we are in the era of social media- it's always fun and sometimes emotional to see other's tributes to their mom. So many people have this overwhelming love for their mama. There are the few who do not but I find that even they have a mama figure that they choose to honor.


Somewhere along the line I began to view Mother's Day (and Father's Day too) as a weekend celebration. I can't be sure exactly when that started but my guess is that it started when I began to date my now husband, we wanted to spend time with his mama too! We had a wonderful compromise of spending the day before Mother's day with her and then Mother's Day with my mom. Unfortunately this year, due to work obligations we couldn't travel back home (well, we could have but it wouldn't have been 'worth it') so my parents & brother came to visit us! We FaceTime with them weekly but we hadn't seen them in person since Easter (5 weeks prior) and my son was really missing his grandparents. He talked about them all day in school telling everyone that they were coming to visit him. I don't know how they got him to take a nap at school! Imagine his joy when they arrived to actually pick him up from school! I wasn't there to see it but I've seen his reaction before and I bet it was priceless!

When they all got back home I was presented with the loveliest of Mother's Day projects from my son. I knew they had been working on them because his school notifies parents of the weekly lesson plan (and Mother's Day projects was on it) but they kept it a secret from us! I have all of my son's mother's day projects from when he first began going there (and will probably keep them all for the rest of my life) and this will be now different. His teacher's are a bit younger so I find that they put a 'pinterest spin' on a lot of their projects and I don't mind one bit. I'm a pinterest girl so I'm loving how they make a lot of these ideas come to life.

Love this! I'm currently looking for a shadow box to frame this in. 

This one makes me cry every time I read it. Every.Single.Time. Like I don't know what it says or something. But it's so true. One day I won't need to wipe away his little hands print from my walls or windows- I'm never wiping this one away. I bought a frame for this one too. I'm putting it up in my office at work until I have a bonafide home office of my own to hang it up in.

And they made these adorable cards- and signed their own names!

I have no idea how to frame this. Maybe just put it in a keepsake box?

My agenda for the weekend was as follows:
Friday night- my parents arrive so we stay in and have taco night
Saturday- sleep late, enjoy the weather, eat lots of grilled food. anxiously wait my brother's arrival
Sunday- enjoy a picnic at the apple orchard, sadly say goodbye


And it pretty much went like that! Last year, I felt like I was running around like a banshee trying to make sure everything was in order for the weekend and I was determined not to do that again. I put a reminder in my phone for one month in advance of Mother's Day but that still didn't stop me from forgetting some greeting cards. I usually don't do card store cards (there isn't anything wrong with them- they just tend not to say what I want them to) so it's essential that I prep in advance because not only do I "make" my own cards (via shutterfly) but I also have to account for shipping times too. Needless to say one card arrived late, and one not at all (my fault not theirs)- it's on it's way though along with an apology.

Hanging out by the fire pit

Unfortunately I don't have many pictures from Friday's taco night nor Saturday's festivities either. I spent most of that time enjoying everyone's company.

So fat forward to Sunday (which was actually Mother's Day) and well not quite everything went according to plan. I was really anxious about the picnic in the apple orchard. Earlier in the week, my husband devastated me with the news that it was supposed to rain all weekend. I was crushed. Throughout the week things kept looking up as he would check the weather forecast and the chance of rain kept getting lower and lower for Saturday (which turned out to be beautiful!) but the verdict was still out for Sunday. I went from being mad at my brother cause he wasn't going to be able to get in until late on Saturday to being mad at my husband for having to work Friday, to out right being mad. My mother's day picnic was ruined! I think it was part pregnancy hormones and part my planner personality but I had an at-ti-tude!

I think I did an okay job of hiding it though because I knew I shouldn't have been mad at anyone- not even Mother nature. The orchard actually had a back up plan for inclement weather that worked out great. Because of our timing we got there with enough time to spare without actually getting wet and was able to have our lunch without bothersome bugs. Then the skies cleared and you would have never thought it was raining 30 minutes prior. We took the opportunity to go on a tractor ride through the orchard. 

My son loved it of course! After that we took the opportunity to continue to enjoy the new found great weather. Much to my surprise the ground dried up really fast!

About a half dozen apple cider donuts, a bottle of hard cider, and a few hours later some more rain clouds started to roll in. So we packed it up and headed home. I was dreading this not only because it was the end of our picnic but because my family was going to be hitting the road soon too.

Not too long ago my mom gave me a bamboo plant to take home with me. I've always wanted to try my hand at growing bamboo. It's low maintenance and supposedly brings good luck. Well unfortunately, it might not have been low maintenance enough cause it bit the dust.And I feel awful about it- I got it from my mom and I couldn't even keep it alive, I mean really?!

Imagine my delight when I received a package on Saturday morning. I was in the bathroom getting ready and Buggy runs upstairs to tell me I have a package at the door. I figured his Dad put him up to it. I went to the door and nothing was there. Yep, my husband put him up to it and it didn't get translated properly.  About 15 minutes later I hear my husband ask "Did you get your package?!". My response was something about about son telling me I had a package but there wasn't anything at the door. So after going back to re-check I found it! I had to put it together (although I didn't mind one bit) but it was the most thoughtful and beautiful present...

Not one but two bamboo's! In the shape of hearts! One from each of my babies!! There must have been little invisible onions chopping ninjas in the room cause I began to have this watery substance in my eyes. I relocated this one (from where I had the last one) and now that I have instructions for the care of bamboo I'm making a promise to make this one thrive. My parent's and mother-in-law also gave me wonderful gifts which I truly appreciate. I plan to go shopping and relax with my gift cards. Gosh, they know me so well!


My mother and mother-in-law both liked their presents too. My only hope is that next year we all get to spend the holiday together again.

Birthday wishes for the Mister!

I have to take a moment to wish my better half a Happy Birthday!!! Sadly, I had to turn to the inter-webs for help on this one but it conveys the message that I want to tell.

"Your birthday means so much to me, it's the day when I must thank the Almighty,

 For bringing you into this world and introducing you to this here girl.

And in turn bless my life by designing me to be your companion and your wife!"