Easter Egg Hunting Can Be Exhausting

I'm sharing the obligatory Easter shot of Little Mister.  He was all smiles on Easter morning at my parents' house and loved the thrill of the hunt.  And for those of you who haven't noticed, we caved and cut his hair.  I'm not sure if me or Matt was more distraught during the actual clipping but Little Mister seems to like it and admired himself in the mirror.

When we finally got home that evening, this was how we spent most of it.

All he wanted to do is cuddle with his daddy.  I absolutely love this picture and I'm so glad I was able to capture this moment.

Photos by me with the Nikon D40X

Spill the Beans, Already!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  I've been going through a bit of a change:

 A bunch of you probably got the hint from my Pinterest board.  I couldn't help myself!  You all know my (un)healthy addiction to Pinterest! 

We are excited and super surprised to say the least.  I can't express ENOUGH the extent of our surprise.  We were told by more than one medical professional that we would never be able have children on our own.  Little Mister finally came to us by way of in vitro fertilization after years of trying, invasive tests and procedures, and disappointing results.  He is truly our little blessing and there isn't a day that goes by that he doesn't make me smile at the miracle of it all. 

So apparently as the story goes for many in our shoes after going through fertility treatments or adoption, we took it easy and didn't worry too much about having another one anytime soon.  We were convinced that it couldn't happen to us, right?  Wrong!  It was only after a couple weeks of just feeling downright crappy and (coincidentally) I had my yearly scheduled with my OB/GYN that I requested, "While I'm here, could I get a pregnancy test?"  At that point, I had a feeling but wanted to be certain. 

My next phone call was to Matt:

"Are you sitting down?"

I haven't been 100% but I'm feeling that second trimester resurgence so I'm taking advantage while I can.  Running after an energetic toddler has left me less time to worry about the little things this time around and trust that my body will do what it's supposed to do so long as I keep eating healthy and getting lots of rest.   We ask Little Mister if he knows what's in Mommy's belly - he says "Bebe."  (swoon!)  He's going to be a wonderful big brother and we are looking forward to the new adventure.

Oh and by the way, it's a girl!  Let the shopping commence!

Until next time!

Finally!

This came in the mail the other day and frankly, it couldn't have come at a better time.  I've held out with envy as the rest of my friends flaunted the iPhone 4 in my face.  But I was patient!

It was a good thing too, because just weeks before my phone fell 18" to the floor and when I picked it up, this was the state it was in.

Sad, isn't it?  What's worse is that I was cutting my finger on the shards of glass so I put packing tape over it.  Then the packing tape started to peel so I added more masking tape on top of it.  Be honest, you think it's trashy.  I do, too.  I promise that it wasn't on purpose but I'm sure others in my life might tell you otherwise.  (All lies!)  I'm still considering selling my phone to a place like Gazelle or Target.

I'm in the middle of making a snazzy cover for my new iPhone with inspiration from Purl Bee.  I don't have a lot of the colors that she recommended but that just gave me room to experiment a bit with what I have.

It's getting there!

Sushi Persistence

Happy Halloween everyone!  Little Mister will not stand to wear any sort of hat or headpiece so all those cute costumes on Pottery Barn and Chasing Fireflies would not suffice.  I was even willing to suck it up and not come up with something clever and handmade.  But alas, given our dilemma and that he's about as stubborn as they come, I decided to make something anyway (I'm pretty stubborn, too).

I was inspired by this guy and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Except Little Mister wasn't.  This is how the dress rehearsal the night before went:

The struggle leading up to it was even more dramatic.  Let's just say both our hands were full.  I asked him again this morning if he wanted to wear his costume and I got a resounding, "NO."

I brought it to his school anyway just in case his teachers had more luck than I did.  Thankfully, they did and for the Halloween parade, he marched around like a champ and we won First Prize!

Houndstooth

I was feeling pretty daring this past weekend.  (Plus, Matt was away watching the Rangers lose Game 3 of the World Series - jealous)  So with Little Mister snoozing away I decided to play with a little something I picked up at Target.

Ok, I'm sure you can see that it's already chipped up and looking nasty.  That's because I forgot I had to do dishes right after.  I know, I know - rookie mistake.  Granted, this is the first time I've done my nails in YEARS but I love them!  :)

Sally Hansen Salon Effects in Houndstooth
Nail polish - China Glaze in "Aqua Baby"

Nap Mat - A Pinterest Inspired Project

You might have already guessed based on this post that I'm what you might call a Pinterest fiend. That's cool, I dig it. If I were to be called a "fiend" at all, I'm okay with being the Pinterest kind.

My boards are stock FULL of ideas and things to do but somehow I never manage to get around to them.  Figures, right?  Little Mister needed a nap mat for school and popular on the circuit these days coincidentally, is this handy dandy nap mat. Since necessity is the fuel for creativity, I counted on Pinterest to help me get the job done.

Image via Pinterest

Doable, yes?

I purchased the pillows from Ikea and some fabric from Fabricworm  and set to work with a few modifications here and there.

It's big and poofy and from what Little Mister's teachers tell me, he's quite comfortable at nap time. Plus, it's easy to wash when the weekend comes around.

That's what I call a success!!

Giddy Friday

A big DON'T fellow parents:

via

Happy Friday!

ACL 2011

We had such a great time at the Austin City Limits Music Festival this year.  The weather was cooperative and the music was fab as always.  Going to ACL with a toddler is certainly a different experience for us - we were stocked with plenty of diapers, snacks, and baby wipes to get us through the day.  Little Mister had no interest in wearing ear protection as he promptly pulled it off so we stayed safely back from the loud speakers.  We also had to make the difficult decision not go on the last day of the festival since we still had to drive back to San Antonio and Matt and I had to work on Monday.  We didn't want to push Little Mister too far.  It was a good decision and we're still able to check out the highlights of Arcade Fire on YouTube. 

Austin skyline

watching Foster the People

i haven't seen grass this green in ages.  the grounds were beautiful!

i don't know who these guys were, i just thought their signs were funny

Little Mister managed to nap through all the noise

We had a great time with some good friends and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  Tickets for next year go on sale NEXT WEEK.  Yes, we'll try our hardest to score early bird tickets.  See you all then!

C'mon Colder Weather

I want to make this:

The free(!) crochet pattern is courtesy of Vicky Howell.  I love her.  I really do.  I've admired her for years and years and not only that, she hails from Austin! 

Since I couldn't snag the coveted Missoni for Target throw, I think this is a nice alternative.  I looked on eBay and people are selling it for nearly 3 times the retail price.  Crazy.  But as much as I love to knit and crochet, it doesn't make sense to cuddle up with yarn and needles on a 100 degree day.  It just feels wrong.  So I'm hoping for a cold front.   

Windy City Part 2

Here it is, the second installment to our trip to Chicago.  We had a blast and can't wait to visit again!  

Giddy Friday

Start the weekend off right - with a little laugh:

via Aled Lewis

August Break - Day 3: HYANNIS PORT

Old picture, but it brings back fun memories

August Break - Day 2: SPLASH

Because it's so darn hot in Texas, we let Little Mister have reign over the water hose.  He got a kick out of trying to get us wet, too. 

The photo above is me narrowly missing getting doused myself - excuse the blurriness but I thought it rightfully captured the panicked frenzy.

3650 days

Today, I celebrate my 10th wedding anniversary with Matt.  I feel so honored and privileged to have shared most of my life with my soul mate.  I will admit that, as with all couples, we faced our battles but I can proudly say that we persevered and have come out stronger as a result.

We've been dating since high school which equates to 17 years together.  Yup fashions back then were wicked.  Don't be jealous.

And now we have an amazing son.  Little Mister has my nose and my eyes, but he has the mischievous tendencies of his dad, no doubt.  I see it when he looks at me.  Matt gives me the same look when he is up to no good. 

I told my mom once that Matt and I were proud to have our parents marriages to look up to.  Of course, then my brother told me my nose had a little brown at the end of it.  ;)

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband.  I love you with all my heart!

August Break

This next month, I'm joining in with a group of bloggers in an event called:

badge courtesy of Katrina Tan at Pugly Pixel

 

 

During this event, all participants will post a picture daily (!) with whatever photographic medium we wish to utilize during the month of August.  Fun!  I can't wait to get started.
 
Head on over to Susannah Conway's blog for more information if you are interested!  

I'm looking forward to running with this and hope with all hopes that I stick with it.  I think (and hope - have i mentioned that?) that if I publicly commit to something, it might actually happen.  So wish me luck and join me, friends!

Kiddie Park

This weekend we visited Kiddie Park here in San Antonio for a birthday party for our friend's little girl.  And although the heat was near unbearable as it's been for ages it seems, the large oak trees offered shade that was greatly appreciated.  It boasts itself as the oldest kid's park in the United States opening it's doors in 1925 complete with a vintage carousel and pint-sized rides.

Little Mister wasn't quite brave enough to ride on any of the rides himself so he spent most of the time gawking at the other kiddos.  

Me: "Look here!  Look here!"  Little Mister: "Nah, Ma.  I'd rather watch the other kids" 

We did manage to get him on the carousel.  Needless to say, he was hanging on for dear life. 

Us:  "Isn't this fun?"  Little Mister: "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

We'll try again later.

All was well...

Today, the last Harry Potter film debuts and although I wasn't able to make it to the midnight showing last night, rest assured I will be in the theaters this weekend with the rest of my Harry Potter coherts.  I'm a big fan of the books as well as the films and I can appreciate how they've shaped the lives of so many people out there - including my own! 

In honor of this day, I'd like to highlight a few of my favorite images I've come across via Pinterest. 

This is a good reinterpretation of the book covers by M.S. Corely.  I love them!

And finally, this parody comic by Lucy Kinsley is pretty amazing:

Happy weekend!

*mischief managed*