Happy Friday... Okay, so it's already saturday

Today:
 we're going to finish the new home for these little guys

I'm going to celebrate a new little man with this sweet girl

Repeatedly snuggle with this 6 month new little sweetie

Giggle and play with these cuties

Yep... It's going to be a good day

She's here... And she's perfect!

Fiona Katherine 

6 pounds 14 ounces

30 November 2012

Shortly after we announced her arrival, a friend asked me if the delivery room surprise was everything I hoped it would be. My response was that it was absolutely perfect! So many of my friends thought I was crazy for not finding out the gender, especially when I had an outrageous number of sonograms due to some early complications.

I had several reasons for not wanting to know. First, I have been blessed with both a daughter and a son, and I figured it really didn't matter what I was given next. There was no pressure or expectations for a particular gender. Second, I had absolutely zero time to use my crafty skills to make anything for the new arrival. Not to mention, we're in the end stages of building our dream home, and there is not yet a room to decorate. Third, I remembered an interview with Billy Crystal where he commented that the gender of a baby is one of the last great mysteries. In an age where information is available  at lightning speed with the press of a button, this is one thing that you can keep a surprise. Kind of like Christmas morning before you were the one buying all the presents.

Anyway, the look on my sweet doctor's face, and the excitement in her announcement that we had a girl was just the BEST! It was exactly what I had built myself up for. After months of debate, we still hadn't come to an agreement on names. But I have been dreaming of my sweet Fiona for quite sometime, and as soon as I heard she was a girl I was completely thrilled!!!

I really have too many happy emotions to contain in this one post, so I'm just going to stick to my main point... which is, this was the absolute best surprise EVER!

Man... I thought I was going to do better than this

Okay, so it's been a month. Eh! What can I say... Well, I can say that I breezed through my lesson plans tonight just so I could post. Maybe I should take a moment to do a month in review (if I can remember back that far! and isn't that the main purpose of this blog, so I can keep track of all that here?!)

So, September is gone, but it was fun. We:

* found out that I no longer have any serious complications with this pregnancy!
* sent Brodie on his first Kindergarten field trip (I didn't cry about the fact that I couldn't go, but I was super sad about it)
* made a house for Sam the worm out of leftover building supplies from our house (I'll post pics when the project returns home from school)
* climbed a rock wall while Trey and Kevin ran the mudrun (at my urging, with less than 24 hours notice... I'm pretty sure they still haven't forgiven me) Liv totally rocked it! Brodie, not so much, but he had fun.

* heard Liv perfect "Mary Had a Little Lamb" on her violin... then on the piano... then singing it in her sleep. She is so excited about making music. It makes me smile
* started fall ball for the Brodie man. I just love his little team, they are so cute out there!
* watched little man run out of the Warrior tee-pee before the Biloxi game. He had so much fun! Liv, the bookworm, read the entire time we were there (We won in overtime!)
* kept working on the house! I seriously can't wait to get in that place. A week of soggy shoes was enough to get me SUPER excited about parking in a garage before the next rainy season is here!!!! HVAC is roughed in, and so is most of the plumbing and wiring. It's time to price out some insulation and drywall installation! I really can't wait to put down the flooring! Especially if I get to go with the BEAUTIFUL wood flooring I have fallen in love with. I think the odds are in my favor... there is no glue involved in the installation!
* have been planning a witch hat soiree with a sweet friend!
* helped some new neighbors/old friends move in! Yep, they not only moved an hour closer, but they moved just 5 houses away! Fun!

I'm sure I'm forgetting a ton of stuff. I've got to keep up better! Here's to 5 updates in October!

I definitely did not take as many weekly pics as I was supposed to. Maybe if we would just come home after church each week, but it's good to catch up with family I guess ;) I'm not convinced that the sonogram correctly predicted my due date. I really think I'm a few weeks ahead (okay, maybe I'm just ready to get this out of the way), but either way tomorrow marks the beginning of week 30!!!! Yikes! We still don't have a name! Getting closer on a girl's name, but nothing is standing out for a boy! I'm open for suggestions!

I couldn't help myself

i have picked up a few things for Liv's room... like this collection from Target. What? I know I don't have room to collect and store this stuff, but it was on sale and I was able to shove it right up there with all the other quilts and such in my WAY overcrowded closet. Plus, it's totally her style. I let her pick it out, there were a few other really cute options. I couldn't resist the bloom lamp, either. I found a yellow one at Target, and they were going fast... so I actually paid full price for it. Well, guess what is now on clearance, and there were three on the shelf yesterday... Oh well, I'm happy it's sitting on top of my refridgerator. Seriously, I have nowhere to store anything!

I can't get this image out of my head...

I have this pinned, but here is the link to the tutorial for creating your own fort. My problem is two fold... first, I live nowhere near an IKEA, and second, everytime I see this in my head I have added my own twist to the framework construction. Trey is not going to like the sound of that. I am pretty certain that he would rather drive me to Atlanta or Houston to pick up one of these babies, instead of spending hours with me in his dad's woodshop constructing the masterpiece I have in my head. I wonder if the sound of woodworking is soothing to a newborn? I mean, I have twelve weeks off, and I'm not scared of getting my hands dirty (but I am scared of cutting one off! perhaps I should cut back on the Star Wars viewing I mentioned the other day).


On to wall art... Again, I can't collect anything at this moment, but I'm definitely collecting ideas...like this cute idea found at A Happy Heart. This is a much cheaper alternative to vintage plates or mirrors, but I might just mix all of the above and throw in a few frames, posters, pics. We'll see where my scattered thoughts lead. For now, I think I'm going to start drawing up the blueprints for Liv's loft ;)

I want to be a Padawan

We have been a bit obsessed with Star Wars lately. We love the old and the new episodes. The kiddos have a heroes and villains book they read in the car, and they want to be Luke and Leia for Halloween this year. I spotted a Millenium Falcon at Target the other day, and I'm waiting for a solo trip so I can pick it up for Christmas.

With all the house building, I've been getting ideas together kids room decor. Since early this year, Brodie has had his heart set on a Captain America room. As much as he loves Star Wars, I was excited that maybe he would change his mind and let me do a retro Star Wars room.



I saw this one over at Laybabylay and I have been dreaming of it ever since. But he still insists on an Avengers room with a heavy focus on Captain America.

I'm so bummed! I am going to give him what he wants, but I just can't let go of my hopes for a Star Wars room! I think I'm going to use this color scheme in the music room/library. I wish I had somewhere to collect and store some of these accessories while we're building. I can't wait!

May the Force be with you!

27 weeks

Tomorrow is week 27 day 1! While I'm quickly progressing, the house building was at a total standstill this week due to the hurricane. Right after I took this pic I changed into some work clothes and started to clean up the yard. I started laughing after a few minutes of that because I realized just how slow I was moving. I felt like the tortoise, getting the job done but taking one step at a time. So so so glad I'm off work tomorrow as well. I need a little time to recover from this unplanned week off!

I love this tunic. I bought it at Forever 21 almost two years ago, and I love changing the look of it with fun accessories. I found the necklace at a cute local boutique, Ivy. And, yes, those are my trusty jeggings and belt from Target.

Happy Sunday!

In the style of Isaac...

Seriously, could a weekly update be stalled any longer?! I'm happy to report that Hurricane Isaac did no damage to our house, new or current house! But, man, is my yard a mess! I'll try to muster up the gumption to get out and take pics today. It's so soggy out there! Remember when Katrina sat on top of the Coast for twelve hours?... Yeah, well, thank goodness Isaac wasn't much of a hurricane because it only moved at 6mph, dragging itself over the Coast for over 24 hours! Needless to say, we had some major cabin fever, but we are so grateful for our friends who we stayed with. We love Katie!

Sorry, I'm still stalling. So, without further adieu. Here is the weekly pic for week 26! Wow, the weeks are flying by!

And check out the HardiePlank! It's already painted, so this is the color my house will be for at least the next 15 years. I'm so glad I'm happy with the way it's turning out. Our builders are doing a great job. They came out and finished the roof the day before the storm. So thankful for that, it saved the sheetrock that was delivered last week!

I'll return tomorrow with some more updates from my week off work!