five on friday

  

      {one}

Look at this adorable Christmas shirt my Mom made for Pearson.  Who ever said there isn't anything cute for boys to wear never saw this!!  It doesn't get much cuter than this!!  The other shirts are for my nephew, Carson and my SIL's other nephew.  I can't wait until I dress my boys in cute little matching outfits like this!!

{two}

 I scored all 24 of these little Hot Wheels for Pearson for less that $3.50 at Dollar General.  They are regularly priced at $1.25 and I only paid 14 cents for each one of them!!  I'm all stocked up for a while! These will be great to put in his stocking, Valentine's gift, Big Brother Bag, Easter Basket, and to have on hand for Potty Training incentives!!  You can check out the deal here on Hip2Save, but hurry because it's only good through Saturday 11/23.

{three}

Today my Mom, SIL and I went to Sam's for their Thanksgiving sample day.  One of the sample's was Green Bean Casserole......mmmmmmmm!! Our family doesn't have green bean casserole at Thanksgiving but I love it.  I never make it because it's a big dish just for the three of us.  I found this recipe for a Chicken, Rice & Green Bean Casserole online that makes the yummy side dish of Green Bean Casserole into a meal.  I thought it was really good.  I will definitely be making it again as I love an all in one meal.  

{four}

For as long as Matt and I have been married we have always put up our Christmas tree the weekend before Thanksgiving.  I know, I know....we are those annoying people that "skip" Thanksgiving.  I normally knock out putting up our tree in a few hours but this year it's taking me forever.  I am so tired in the evening so I've just been getting a little bit done each day.  Tuesday we pulled it all out from the attic.  Wednesday I got Pearson's Christmas toys and books out.  Thursday we put the Christmas tree up and today I'm sitting on the couch (having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions) wishing that I could snap my fingers and have my tree decorated.  I don't think that is going to happen though so I think we are going to decorate it tomorrow.  

{five}

Instead of decorating our tree tonight we opted for Family Movie Night complete with popcorn.  Tonight we watched "Merry Christmas, Thomas".  Pearson loved it but Oh.My.Goodness. it was so dumb.  I guess I'm not a fan of Thomas the Train.  Thomas is not near as catchy and entertaining as the Disney train show, Chuggington.  Little Man was a happy camper so that was all that mattered!!  I'm looking forward to lots of family movie nights in the next few weeks with all the Christmas specials on TV.  We are going to have to get our DVR all set for all of the Christmas Classics.  

meal planning monday

Monday: Tator Tot Casserole & Baked Zuchinni

Tuesday: Chicken Parm, Fresh Veggies, & Garlic Toast

Wednesday:  Chicken Salad Sandwiches, Chips, & Fruit Salad

Thursday: Green Bean Chicken Casserole

Friday: Tortilla Soup

Saturday Breakfast: Chiloso $1 Tacos (hopefully!)

Saturday Lunch: Grilled Chicken Salad w/ Poppyseed Dressing

Saturday Dinner: Fried Rice & Egg Rolls

Sunday Lunch: Last Sunday Lunch

Sunday Dinner: Biscuits & Gravy & Eggs

baby no. 2 {26 weeks}

how far along? 26 weeks

how are you measuring? measuring right on track

size of baby? size of a head of lettuce

heartbeat? 148bpm (at our 25 week appointment) 

total weight gain/loss? 14lbs

maternity clothes? All maternity clothes except cardigans!

stretch marks? No new ones. 

sleep? Terrible this week.  Charlie horses, butt cramps, potty breaks, and not being able to get comfortable keep me up alot at night. 

best moment this week? Seeing Pearson sing in his music program. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen.

movement? Yes! He kicks so hard in the evenings and after I wake up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.  I love feeling him move......it's really the best feeling in the world. 

food cravings? Nothing really specific.......still loving sweets, honeycrisp apples, hummus & chai tea lattes.

gender predictions? BOY!!!! Nash Matthew Link

what i miss? Having a flat stomach and being able to bend over with a belly getting in the way.
what i'm looking forward to? Pulling out all of Pearson old clothes out of the attic to starting to sort through what we can reuse.
how are you feeling? All sorts of cramps going on in my body.  I found out at the doctor that the cramp in my butt is my sciatic nerve.  Little man likes to position himself where he presses or pinches this nerve which gives me an awful shooting pain in my butt.  One night this week I woke up in tears it hurt so bad.......however the last two nights it hasn't bothered me at all.  Hopefully it is a thing of the past because it was quite painful.  I am having multiple Braxton Hicks contractions each day.   They aren't painful, just annoying.  My hands have also started randomly falling asleep.  Fun times!!   

comparisons to last pregnancy? I feel SOOOOOO pregnant already and I still have 13 weeks to go.  (And yes, I can do math, but my c-section is scheduled for 39 weeks) I guess with Pearson it was all so exciting and I just couldn't wait to see my belly grow each week.  With this one, I just know that with each passing week my growing belly will get more and more uncomfortable......so it's not so exciting.  Plus, wrangling a two year old with a belly wears me out.  I am pooped at the end of each day!!

Here I am 26 weeks with Pearson and 26 weeks with Nash.

pearson {29 months}

I didn't do a very good job this month (or last month) keeping track of funny things you said and did.  I'll have to do better next month!! Here are a few little things I can remember

• If we ask you if we can help you, your response is always "No, I help you"
• I let you have juice boxes for the first time this month. Big mistake. You are obsessed and think you should have one everyday.  We ran out last week and I won't be buying anymore any time soon. 
• You LOVE to sing songs but you do not like to perform for us. You sing the ABC's and Jesus Loves Me alot, but you are always buy yourself or where we can't see you.  You come home singing all sorts of songs from preschool.
• Your favorite snack right now is hummus and pita chips.  You wake up some mornings asking for it.
• We  turned your room into a "Big Boy Room". You are still in your crib but you have a little play area in your room now where the rocking chair used to be.  
• We got Nash's bed and bedding all set up and sometimes when I put you down for a nap you tell me "No, dat bed."  You love to be in his room. 
• Another phrase we here alot is "I dood dit" (I do it) or "My dood dit".
• When sports are on the TV you usually say "Go Cowboys" or "Go Bay-Yer" (Baylor). Last week when Matt was getting really excited during a Baylor game, he looked at me and said "Daddy's so-wee" (silly).
• You have started taking showers with us.  You think it is such a fun thing!
• You won't let us change your diaper on the changing table anymore. You have to choose where you lay down now.  You are not interested in potty training at all and I am A-Okay with that.  I'm not ready for it.  After you poop, you promptly tell us "Diapa Change".
• We have had to pretty much quit letting you watch TV.  It's such a battle with you after the show is over that it's not worth the 30 minutes of peace and quiet it give us to let you watch a show.  
• You love to go to Chick-A-Way (Chick-fil-A) with Lolly & Pops on Tuesday mornings.  Some mornings when I ask you what you want for breakfast you tell me "Chick-A-Way wif Ya-Yi and Pops".
• You still take a great 2-3 hour nap every day.  If it is not a school day you usually go down around 1pm. On school days you go down at 2pm and usually sleep until 5pm.  School wears you out. 
• You have become an apple snob like your Mama! You never liked apples until I started offering you Honeycrisps. 
• You have discovered that your pants have pockets and you call them your "Phone Pocket".
• Anytime we pass a fire station you like to see if the fire trucks are out.  If the doors are closed I always say "Ah man, the doors are closed."  The other day as soon as we passed the station you said, "Ah man da doors are closed." It's so funny to hear you mimic what we say. 
• You are talking in lots of sentences and phrases.  You amaze us with all that you can say now. You can really communicate well.  
• At night when we say it's time to say our prayers you say "Talk to Jesus". You put your hands together and squint your eyes together where you can still see. Some days you will repeat after us and some days you won't.
• A while back I told Pearson that he was going to have to start going tee-tee in the potty soon so we can give Baby Nash all of his diapers.  He quickly responded, "No.....Baby Nash go tee-tee in the potty."
• You like to tell us what the weather is like each day (raining, windy, hot, cold, cloudy, dark).
• All shirts with collars are coats to you.  When you wear a dress shirt you like to say "I handsome."

• Funny words you say....
• Smoo-Bee (Smoothie)
• Tee-Bee (TV)
• Ya-Wer (Water)
• Bwank (Blankie)
• Don't Truck (Dump Truck)
• Es-Ta-Bater (Escavator)
• Ro-Yer (Roller)
• Yo-Gurk (Yogurt)

surprise sleepover

My friend Jenica was due to have her little boy on December 15th.  A few weeks ago we talked about a back up plan if she went into labor before her family got in town.  I let her know that she could call us night or day and we would take their little two year old in as our own until her family could come get her.

Well, last night I got a phone call from Jenica at 4am.  She was in labor.  Their sweet little girl came over in the middle of the night so her Mommy and Daddy could go to the hospital.  She did awesome!!  She slept in Baby Nash's room on her little nap mat.  When Pearson woke up he was so happy to see his friend.  Matt had already left to go play Top Golf with his guy friends so the little watched some cartoons in bed while I got ready for the day.  

 I texted Jenica to check in around 8am and much to my surprise Baby Jaxon had already been born at 6:02am.  

From her first contraction to the birth of the baby it was 3 hours.  I'm so glad we had a back up plan for Brynn to stay with us!! After I told Brynn the news that she was a big sister, we decided to bust out the birthday cakes and candles and make cupcakes for Jaxon.  They were so cute singing Happy Birthday to Jaxon!!

 The funny thing about all of this is that we had a Diaper Shower planned at my house this morning for Jenica.  All the Mommies and kiddos were coming over to play and shower Baby Jaxon while the Daddies played at Top Golf.  Obviously Jenica didn't make it to her shower, but we still had the shower and Big Sister Brynn represented the family!!  Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of the shower.  The kids kept us pretty busy, plus it was quite crazy with all the toys strewn about the living room!!  

After a long day full of lots of playing, Brynn's grandma came and picked her up around 4pm.  They were both absolutely pooped when she left.  We had a fun day playing with our sweet friend Brynn and having our first {surprise} sleepover.  

 It's crazy to think that the next baby to be born in our ABF is ours!!  Here's to hoping Nash stays a February baby and doesn't decide to surprise us in January!!

pearson's 2K music program

Last night Pearson had his Thanksgiving Music Program at his Preschool.  

 I had no idea what to expect.  You never know if your kid is going to be the one that screams, the one that sings loud, the one that just stands there or the one that goofs around.  Pearson did such a good job at his first performance and we are so proud of him. 

This was when he first spotted us on the front row! 

 When the 2K & 3K classes were singing he looked at the little girl in the red dress just about the entire time.  She knew every single word and motion to each song and sang it loud and proud. Pearson couldn't take his eyes off of her. 

 After the littles ones sang their songs, the Pre-K kiddos joined them for two more songs.  He had lots of big kids to look up to during those songs.  He was absolutely precious to watch.  It was fun to finally hear and understand the songs that we hear him coming home singing but can't understand.  He loves music class and his music teachers!!

 My Mom last minute asked me what we were doing tonight and I told her we were going to his Music Program at school.  I hadn't even thought about inviting grandparents, so she invited herself.  What was I thinking not inviting grandparents????  Mom fail, for sure. 

**Grammy & Grandaddy, I'm SO sorry I didn't invite you.  It wasn't just you guys I forgot, I forgot my own parents, too.  Matt caught it all on video for you though, so I hope you enjoy watching it.  I will let you know WAY in advance when his Spring music program is so you can see him in person.  

pearson {28 months}

I should probably get this posted since Pearson will be 29 months on Saturday.  

I'll post all the things he's doing and saying combined in the 29 month post.  The last two month are all starting to run together since I'm behind!!  

10 on 10 (on the 11th) {november}

Last month I was like 10 days late, at least this month I'm just a day late!!

This is pretty much my fall maternity uniform: maternity shirt, maternity skinnies, non-maternity cardigan and a scarf.  Do you see my little bed head photo-bomber??

Pearson loves to play in the bathroom while I get ready.  He was so proud of his car carrier and choo-choo that he built this morning while I was getting ready for MOPS. 

We made the cutest chalkboard clothespins at MOPS today.

I swore I would always have a clutter free fridge, but Pearson comes home with the cutest things from school and I can't resist.  I originally said I would just have one thing up at a time and I would replace it as a new one came home, but they are all just too cute to take down.

Y'all my dishes were out of control today.  I HATE doing the dishes.  I'd rather scrub toilets or fold laundry than do the dishes. 

 I've been sitting in Nash's room admiring all the work we have gotten done lately!! This stinkin' bookshelf was a labor of love, but I absolutely love it now!!  I painted two coats of the wrong orange then had to prime it then painted two coats of the right orange.  Five coats later it's exactly how I wanted it.  Now I just need to get the shelves back in it.   I'm hoping to get some wall decor figured out soon so I can share the whole room with you!!

 Big brother has a new love for his rocker now that it's in Nash's room. 

 This kid can't keep his fingers out of his mouth these days. I'll be glad when his molars are all in and he drops that habit.

 Someone wanted to be just like Daddy and eat dinner without his shirt.  

 After I got dinner ready for the boys, I snuck out for a night with the girls for Bunco!!

meal planning monday

Monday:  Boys: Breakfast Me: Bunco

Tuesday: Lasagna, Garlic Toast, & Fresh Veggies

Wednesday: Baked Potato Soup

Thursday: Taco Soup

Friday: Fried Rice & Egg Rolls

Saturday Breakfast: Matt: Out with the Guys Me & P: Baby Shower Brunch

Saturday Lunch: Snacks

Saturday Dinner: Cheeseburger Wraps & Sweet Potato Fries

Sunday Lunch: ??

Sunday Dinner: Fajita Pizza

baby no. 2 {25 weeks}

how far along? 25 weeks

how are you measuring? I'll find out at our appointment on Tuesday.

size of baby? size of a cauliflower

heartbeat? 156 bpm (at our 21 week appointment) 

total weight gain/loss? 12lbs

maternity clothes? I'm pretty much wearing all maternity clothes now. 

stretch marks? No new ones. And no dark line under my belly button yet!!

sleep? I've only been waking up once a night to go to the bathroom, but I get up ever few hours to switch sides.  Charlie Horses wakes me up in the middle of the night sometimes too.  

best moment this week? Having a week at home with my little man with not very many things on our calendar.  My Mom and Mother in Law and I had a work day on Thursday.  We finished all of Nash's bedding!! I also re-painted the bookshelf and I'm extremely pleased with how it turned out.  Now I just need some wall decor!

movement? Yes! He moves alot in the evening.  

food cravings? Chai Tea Lattes.  I can't get enough of them.  I have one almost every morning during the week.  Pearson calls it my hot milk.  I am also loving Honeycrisp apples and roasted garlic hummus with pita chips. 

gender predictions? BOY!!!! Nash Matthew Link

what i miss? Sleeping on my back.
what i'm looking forward to? My dr's appointment this week.  It should be my last appointment where i have to go 4 weeks in between.
how are you feeling? The cramp that I have been getting in my butt has gotten worse this week. It's especially bad in the middle of the night.  Some night I wake up and I literally have to limp to the bathroom because I'm in so much pain.  If I switch sides and sleep on the side that doesn't hurt it goes away.  I'm also having a hard time catching my breath.  I feel like I have to take deep breaths all the time to catch up with my self.   

comparisons to last pregnancy? My Charlie Horses aren't near as bad as they were with Pearson.  With Pearson I would have to get out of bed to stand up and stretch the cramp out.  I can always get them to go away in bed with Nash.  

Here I am 25 weeks with Pearson and 25 weeks with Nash.

five on friday

I've been wanting to join this link up for a while now, but every week by the Friday rolls around I forget to get a post up.  This week I actually remembered so here goes.......five random thoughts on Friday.

{one}
On Thursday my Mom, Mother in Law and I had a Project Nursery Work Day.  My Mom had already got quite a bit of work done so we all worked on finishing it all up.  We were able to get just about everything that has to do with fabric completed!  The only things left are my diaper bag, a pillow for the chair, and a basket cover for the diaper basket.  Here's a little sneak peek of his bed skirt.  I'll do a whole Nursery Reveal post once I get all the decorations figured out.

{two}
Last weekend Annie Sloan and I got together again to paint the bookshelf in Nash's room orange.  Annie Sloan doesn't have a ton of colors to choose from so I couldn't believe that they had a color that looked like it matched perfectly.  Sadly after painting two coats on the bookshelf I realized it was not turning out how I wanted it too.  It was starting to look UT orange and the brown was still showing through.  I was going to have to paint a third coat to get it completely covered but then it would make it even darker.  I decided to just scrap it and move on.  I painted it with Kilz this afternoon/evening and I'm going to paint it a brighter orange with some paint from Sherwin Williams tomorrow.  Hopefully it turns out exactly how I want it because I'm not painting this bookshelf a third time!

**This picture doesn't really give a true picture of what it looks like with the Annie Sloan paint.  It doesn't look so bad here but it really was very dark burnt orange.  And this is also a little sneak peek of the curtains!!


{three}

Pearson is absolutely cracking us up these days.  He is TOTALLY a two year old and we definitely have lots of tough moments, but he is talking so much these days and saying so many funny things.  I have got to get better at jotting the funny things down on my phone so I can post about them in his monthly posts.  I have completely dropped the ball on his 28 month post so I'll have to combine his 28 and 29 post.  I'm so sad that I missed a month.  I'll probably take a picture this week and call it his 28 month picture so I'll have one.....shhhhhhh....don't tell anyone!!

{four}

In a few weeks I am participating in "A Meaningful Christmas".  I've known about this since Pearson was a baby.  I wanted to participate in it, but I wasn't ever able to get a group together.  This year a friend from church organized a group and I am so excited to be a part of it.  I am in charge of making 24 ornaments with a cross on it to go along with the Advent Devotion Topic- Believe; John 3:16.   When we get together at the end of November I will give my ornaments away and receive 23 other ornaments.  I will also get a devotional book that corresponds with the ornaments to do with my family each day leading up to Christmas.  I know Pearson is still a little young to really understand this but I'm excited to start it this year!!  He will at least have fun adding an ornament to the tree each day. 

{five}

I don't know about you, but I'm starting to see lots of cute Christmas crafts pop up on Pinterest.  I'm queen of pinning stuff and never actually making it, but I'm determined to change that this year.  Michaels is making this easier by starting to have "Pinterest Inspired" end caps.  They will have all the supplies you need to make different Pinterest Inspired crafts.  The projects will change throughout the seasons and it will encourage people "Don't just pin it, make it your own."


#JustAddMichaels to make your holiday crafts!
 I’ll be at the Pinterest inspired in-store party at Michaels on November 10 – join me!!

diy foaming soap

Oh my goodness........it's been WAY too long since I've done a "Pinned There Done That" post.  I feel like I just haven't had time to browse Pinterest lately or doing any fun projects, crafts or recipes.  My blog has been strictly used for Meal Planning, Pregnancy Updating and Life Scrapbooking lately.    I'm ready to get back into sharing fun ideas, crafts and recipes.  We'll see how long that lasts though since I'm in the thick of decorating Nash's Nursery and starting to get busy with holiday stuff!!  

Today I want to share with you a recipe that my Mom found for refilling your foam soap dispensers.    

You know, the $12.00 foaming soaps at Bath & Body Works, does anyone actually pay full price for those? I don't know about you but I hate paying full price for anything.  Obviously I would never pay full price for a bottle of soap, but even when you get them on sale, they can still run you $5 a pop.  This DIY recipe will cut you way down in cost and it's so nice to just be able to fill your bottles up when needed!! With this recipe a big bottle of refill soap can last your FOREVER.  I'm not sure where the original recipe is found on Pinterest, but here is the one that my Mom likes best!!

Here's what you need.....

3 Tablespoons of any kind of soap

(I just use store brand hand soap)

2/3 cup of warm water

Directions:

Microwave the 2/3 cup of water in a glass measuring cup for 2-3 minutes.  Put the 3 Tablespoons of soap in the water and stir. 

Pour the liquid mixture into your foaming soap container.

 Voila!!  DIY foaming soap that is super easy and cheap!!

Enjoy!!

daisy comes to play

Pearson's friend Aisley came over to play this morning.  Her Mommy had a meeting so I happily watched her little girl while she was away.  Pearson LOVES having friends over and I love it to because it makes our mornings fly by.  He doesn't ever get bored with a playmate around.

 Pearson talks about Aisley all the time.  They see each other quite a bit at church.  When Pearson was younger, he called her "A-See", but somehow in the last few months that has changed to Daisy.  I just can't correct him so I've been calling her Daisy too! It's just too cute!!

We had a fun filled morning with puzzles, car races, a pretzel snack, coloring, playing with playdough and eating a delicious lunch.  

Speaking of lunch, Aisley's Momma, Loyce, knows the way to this pregnant Momma's heart........Edamame Salad!!  She brought some over for us to eat with our lunch.  I'll definitely have to share the recipe soon because it is my absolute favorite right now.   

Fresh fruit and roasted garlic hummus with pita chips are pretty high on my favorite snacks/lunches right now too!! 

shhhhh.....baby sleeping

This week on Dallas Mom's Blog we are doing a Sleep Series where a few of the contributors are sharing their experiences with sleep.

Yesterday I wrote a blog post titled "How I Got My Newborn to Sleep Through the Night at 10 Weeks."

Go check it out and tell me what you think.  

How did you get your newborn to sleep through the night?

meal planning monday

Monday: Dinner @ Oma & Joe's

Tuesday: Shrimp Alfredo with Fresh Veggies

Wednesday: Tortilla Soup

Thursday: Me: Countdown to Christmas Boys: Paninis & Chips

Friday: Lasagna, Garlic Toast, & Sauteed Green Beans

Saturday Breakfast: Chiloso $1 Breakfast

Saturday Lunch: BBQ Stuffed Baked Potatoes

Saturday Dinner: Pesto Chicken & Tomato Skewers, Baked Brown Rice, & Greek Salad

Sunday Lunch: Chicken Salad

Sunday Dinner: Pizza

baby no. 2 {24 weeks}

how far along? 24 weeks

how are you measuring? I forgot to ask at my last appointment

size of baby? size of a cantaloupe

heartbeat? 156 bpm (at our 21 week appointment) 

total weight gain/loss? 11lbs

maternity clothes? I'm pretty much wearing all maternity clothes now. 

stretch marks? I don't think I have any new ones yet. 

sleep? I'm still just getting up to go to the bathroom 1-2 times a night.  I wake up about every hour needing to switch sides though.  I hate that I can't just move around in my sleep these days.  I have to wake up, adjust my pillows, turn around and then I can go back to sleep. 

best moment this week? We got so much done in the nursery this week.  I painted the walls (and ceiling) with my neighbor, Matt put the crib together, we put all the furniture in place including moving the glider out of Pearson's room, I painted the bookshelf and Mom got the valence, toy bag, quilt, 2 blankies, and a taggie blanket made.  We also got the valence and black out shades put up.  The room is really coming together!!

movement? Yes! However I'm pretty sure he had a sugar crash on Friday after Halloween because he barely moved all day.  I was getting really worried that I hadn't felt him move much but then that evening he was back to his normal kicking self.  His movement has seemed a little less this week which seems odd.  However, sometimes I think I'm just so busy taking care of a toddler that I don't even notice it sometimes. 

food cravings? Anything sweet.  It's terrible. I have got to slow down or I'm going to be a whale at the end of my pregnancy.  I'm already feeling my face get kind of chubby which is not good!!  

gender predictions? BOY!!!! Nash Matthew Link

what i miss? Sleeping on my back, having the energy and time to work out, and my colored jeans.
what i'm looking forward to? Having a work day with my Mom & Mother in Law on Thursday.  We are hoping to get just about everything done for the nursery this week except for the decorations.
how are you feeling? I'm feeling pretty great.  I am just totally worn out by the end of the day. 

comparisons to last pregnancy? I'm pretty sure I already had the dark line under my belly button with Pearson at this point.  It hasn't shown up yet so we'll see if I get it.  I would love to not get it because it took forever after he was born to finally fade away.  

Here I am 24 weeks with Pearson and 24 weeks with Nash.

desktop {november 2013}