Making Time

Last night Evan stayed home cleaning the house with Gloria while I ran to the post office to have a date with Liliana.  Evan and I try to each have our Liliana one-on-one time to remind her how special she is to us.  She LOVES this time with us.  She's a great helper at the post office too! :)  On my way home we stopped at Kroger to get some chips and I decided it was a great evening to rent a movie and cuddle on the couch with my man.

Cuddle nights on the couch are one of our favorite pasttimes.  We're BIG on putting the kiddos to sleep and making us time.  Lately we've really focused on getting the kids down for bed at a decent hour so that we can spend time together SANS kiddos.  I realize this isn't the easiest task with a two year old and a two month old, but I must say, we're excelling!  The girls took naps at the same time on Saturday AND Sunday and both were asleep by 9 pm each night. This means we get LOTS of time together as a couple (I mean that in the hubba hubba way and in just the fun sitting on the couch watching a movie way).

I rented a movie I had been wanting to see for a while called "Friends with Kids." The movie is your typical decent romantic comedy: 6 friends (two of them couples) .... 2 of them having kids, those two couples seem miserable.  The two single friends decide to have a kid together but not be togheter. Spoiler alert: they end up falling in love with eachother. WHAT?  Didn't see that coming! ; )

Anyway, the movie really focused on the miserable aspect of having kids and the number it does on a marriage.  This kinda pissed me off.  It doesn't HAVE to be like that.

YES the kiddos are time consuming.  YES Evan and I have less down time than we used to, but it DOES NOT consume our lives.  We have a 2 month old and a 27 month old and both work full-time jobs (his counts as two jobs actually).  And yet, we still MAKE the time.

One of my pet peeves is when people say they don't HAVE the time to do something.  "We don't HAVE the time to clean." "We don't HAVE the time to workout." "We don't HAVE the time to ...." you get the picture.

NONE of those statements are true.

You HAVE the time.  You just don't MAKE the time.

Honestly I don't MAKE the time to clean our house often enough.  I've realized it won't be spotless and the vacuum will be run about every week and a half.  And that's as good as we're going to do it because I would rather have a cuddle night on the couch with my husband.

We MAKE the time to be together.  Having kids hasn't changed the hubba hubba time AT ALL ... it's just as strong as ever (TMI sorry!) and same with just watching movies etc.  We make it a priority.  If we have work to do (be it the etsy shop or Evan's job since he not only has to work 80 hours but is required to write papers as well), we say "we'll work for 30 minutes and then we're done and will spend time together."

One BIG change we've made since having kids?  We're on the internet and on our phones SO much less.  Our computers don't get turned on for DAYS sometimes.  We used to surf the internet while sitting next to each other but now, our time is more limited since we do have the kids taking more of it so we MAKE the time by putting the laptop away and spending time together.

We spend time together by reading books side by side, by playing games (cards, board games, or even a 2 player game on our tablet that we've been particularly addicted to lately), by baking together (which often results in flirting by putting brownie batter on each others cheeks etc).

During the movie, Evan had his arms wrapped around me and told me something that he says frequently but I never get tired of hearing:

"You're my favorite."

I love when he tells me that.  I'm his favorite.  And he's mine.  And that is  SO worth making time for.

Having kids doesn't have to kill your relationship.  I don't even believe it has to slow it down.  You just work with it. And if you're lucky, like we are, you find so much joy in your new found family that you're happier than ever before.

my businesses and my BEAUTIFUL gals

It's been a long while since I've written!  In fact, this might just be the longest bloggy break I've ever taken.  Don't know why ... I haven't felt very inspired to write I suppose.  Nothing much to write about as well.

That, however, doesn't mean I haven't been busy as can be!

We've had quite a few visitors wanting to see our adorable, beautiful, and SO easy going Gloria.  I've also been at work quite a lot already.  My godmother came to visit this entire week and I put in about 25 hours to get things settled and organized so that when I do return in a week, things will be more put together for me. 

I've also been VERY busy with the etsy shops.  Yes, I said SHOPS.  I started a second one with some invitations, menu cards, etc. and while it's not nearly as stocked as the other one, it has added some more work for sure!  I've already printed about 150 invitations for people and it's so fun bringing some happiness in to these events and doing it for a reasonable price.  I get so ANGRY when I see how much others charge.  Yes, it takes me a HUGE amount of time to print them, cut them, and go to the post office everyday, but I like doing it at a reasonable price.  Not everybody can spend $50,000 on a wedding.

I digressed.  When I finally got the inspiration to write today, I thought I'd write about the two things that have been occupying my mind lately: my businesses and more importantly, my beautiful gals!

C'mon Let's Celebrate. Here I have invitations, menu cards, programs, and more.  I'm trying to add more listings (because I have the BIGGEST list of ideas on my phone and computer) but it takes quite a lot of time to design them and my attention is more on the sides of looking at this beautiful face as often as possible. ; )

Gloria has been SUCH an awesome baby.  She had 3 rough days last week because I gave her a stomach virus and while I was sitting on the toilet she was spitting up.  It wasn't pretty.  But the good news is she continued to sleep through it all (we're averaging about 5.5 hours between feedings, but sometimes get as much as 6.5).  I'd LOVE for it to be longer sleeping, but we go from about 9:30 to 3 and then 6:30 we wake up for the day.  Evan does the 3 am feed most nights so I'm sleeping from 11:30 to 6:30 most mornings and with a newborn that's pretty dang good!  As for the daytime, she continues to be SO easy peesy.  She just does tummy time or sits in her boppy for 45 minutes looking at the world without a fuss.  Then when it's time to eat, she lets you know!  But, she feeds quickly, and then takes a snooze or continues on her merry way looking around happily.  It's so wonderful!

So I've discussed one beautiful gal and one business.  Here's the SECOND business.

Pretty Prints Shop is all about that: any print I can imagine.  I've done signs for people's weddings, quite a few baptism gifts, things for the kitchen, and of course a ton in the nursery! I add more to this one because it's my baby and I've had ideas for it forever.  

And my original baby ... here she is ... in her full glory.  She is SO stinking fun right now.

Liliana sings and talks up a STORM.  Her favorite things to say are "Daddy and Mommy are silly!" or she's a big fan of saying "Ok Mommy be right back!" when she goes to the potty.  This morning, she told me "Madrina has my heart"  Yeah, she's warmed up to my godmother quite a lot!  She's such a brilliant little stinker.  I'm pretty obsessed with her.

All in all life has been great since Gloria was born.  I'm REALLY overwhelmed with the thought of going back to work full-time without any help (Evan's hours continue to be insane).  But, that's another blog post for another day. : )

Makes You Think

Last week we were at Meme's house (Evan's aunt, aka Liliana's favorite person on earth) and his uncle told us "Mike was in Colorado this weekend and I still haven't heard from him.  I texted him 2 days ago.  He would be the kind to go to a midnight showing of a movie."

We didn't think too much of it.  But then again, I thought "Mike doesn't seem like the kind of guy to not text back for TWO entire days when he knows his Dad is worried." 

Turns out, Evan's cousin WAS seeing Batman on opening day.  In Aurora.  At the same movie theatre.

Evan and his cousin Mike get along really swimmingly.  We even had him over for dinner a few months ago and I can see why Evan always enjoys his company so much.  He's a laid back guy, super kind, a brilliant artist, and just a really good person.

Mike scraped by though.  He went to the 12:01 showing and not the 12:00 showing.  So he was in the movie theatre RIGHT NEXT to where the shooting took place.

This story isn't over though.  A bullet went THROUGH THE WALL and hit the arm of the man in front of him and some debris hit Mike's ear.  In other words, his life was spared by a SMIDGE.

I told my Mom this story and she said "his EAR?  That's an INCH away from his brain ... imagine."

And it made me think.  WOW.  That is absolutely crazy.  My heart breaks for the people that lost their lives.  For the family that lost their 6 year old in the shooting.  And it really hit close to home when Evan's cousin nearly lost his life last week.

As I type this post, I look at my baby girl sweetly asleep on a blanket on the floor and realize HOW MUCH it would hurt to not have my family in my life.  I am so fortunate that we're all safe and healthy.  And I'm so sorry to those that lost their loved ones, because I can not imagine the pain, anger, etc. that I'd be feeling.

Every now and then, these things unfortunately happen where there are shootings and  every time I promise myself to "stop and smell the roses" and spend quality time with those I love.  But this time it just hit a little closer to home, and I promise, this weekend, it'll be us 4, watching the Olympics, and being thankful for what we have.

PS TOTALLY off topic, but in honor of my 150th sale in the etsy shop, I'm doing a 15% discount on anything until Sunday!  Simply email me at prettyprintsshop@gmail.com if you want a custom order (I do invitations, announcements, etc too!) or convo me on etsy letting me know what you want!  THANKS!  I've added some cute things lately ... take a look ...

Get it while it's hot print.

This is a fun print for the kitchen!  I think I'll also make one that says "drop it like it's hot" ... you know ... taking me back to my high school days!  : ) 

Make Today Totally Awesome print. 

 I just think this will look so fun in any dorm room, office, or kids room.  FUN, positive reinforcement.

She's BAAAACK!

Last night, our world got "flipped turned upside down!" again when the tornado that is Liliana came back home.  I missed her so stinking much!  When she came in to the house I gave her a hug and nearly started crying.  Talk about hormones on overload huh?  I realize it had only been 5 days, but Liliana has become my buddy and my pal when Evan works his long hours so it was weird not having somebody talk me through putting my make up on, or somebody to help me make the bed every morning. 

This week has been a big transition for the Lacefield family.  Evan officially started being a Urologist as he is now done with General Surgery.  We were both under the impression that his hours would greatly improve.  LORD were we WRONG.  This week for instance, from Monday to today, he has already worked nearly 70 hours ... BUT here's the problem.  He's on call ALL Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday.  This means he is technically working for 60 hours straight, piling the hours to about 130.  Yeah, talk about exhausting.  Evan has helped get the night feeds a couple times and usually insists to get them more often, but I am a stubborn woman and I tell him it would be irresponsible of us to allow him to do it more often because he needs to try and rest SOME times.  I mean, he's waking up at 5:15 am everyday to head to work, so at least I get to keep sleeping after the feeds where he wouldn't be able to.

This morning was the first morning that I was by myself with the two girls.  WOWZA.  Let me tell you, the morning is NO JOKE any more.  We fell asleep at about 11:15 and Gloria wanted to feed around 1:15 am.  She awoke again at 4:50 and this feed took a while because she took the worlds TIMELIEST poop ... seriously ... kernel by kernel I sat there and let her do her thing for a good 15 minutes.  Poor kid, she needs a bathroom book.  ; )

I went back to sleep until about 7:40 and then took a shower.  I was finishing getting ready and heard Gloria wake up around 8:45 and then heard Liliana starting to play with her toys.  My kiddos were officially awake!  NOW ... how to manage this ...

I got Liliana and she immediately wanted to see "Gloria, the sissy baby!" (yeah, that's her name according to Liliana).  She tells Gloria "don't cry baby!  It's ok!  Te quiero baby, te quiero!" (translation: I love you baby, I love you!)  It's the most precious thing ever.

As I fed Gloria, Liliana tried to clean up Gloria's room (translation: make it SUBSTANTIALLY messier).  Then we both got dressed, we went pee pee and poo poo (while one goes in her diaper, the other is carrying around a frog potty full of poop ... wow, a lot of talk about bowel movements in this post, my apologies). 

We finally left the house at 10 am.  I was pretty proud of myself until I realized that somehow, in about a month, I will have to be leaving the house around 7 am when work starts once again.

NO clue how we'll get that done unless I wake up around 5:00 am.  Sounds tiring.  REALLY tiring. 

Can I just get a great, Spanish speaking, free nanny already?

It's Great.

Those first few days after having a baby are pretty much a blur.  I wouldn't necessarily say they're STRESSFUL, they're more like a shock a ... "BOOM you forgot how much work this was going to be!"

That being said, we have had a FABULOUS first week with Gloria.  She is a BEYOND amazing baby.  Liliana was always a great baby and a great sleeper, but I have to admit, Gloria is substantially more easy going.  She has yet to cry for more than 6 minutes in a day.  We do a few sessions of tummy time on a daily basis and usually (or at least Liliana) babies cry after a while on tummy time.  Not this girl.  She just plays and plays and plays.  Evan and I can't get over it! 

As for sleep?  I guess we're lucky with our babies.  The shortest she has gone at night is 3.5 hours.  I've even been breast feeding some this go around, so it's not just that I'm drowning her in formula (as people often say). 

The first night we got home from the hospital, my back was still in EXCRUCIATING pain from the epidural.  I couldn't lie down without being in a huge amount of pain.  Fortunately for me, I have the most amazing and supportive husband on earth.  Evan didn't let me do any feedings the first two nights home.  He insisted I take some medication to help my back pain and to help me sleep.  The first night, I slept 10 hours straight.  Evan was even on call that first night, so I don't know how he kept walking, but I really did appreciate his demanding that I let myself recover.

Since then, I have felt GREAT!  It took me nearly 2 weeks to feel back to normal after having Liliana.  This time around, I felt nearly 100% at 3 days!  I don't know if it was the fact that I slept so well, if it was the fact that this is my second baby, or a combination of all of this, but it all went so quickly.

Speaking of brilliantly, EVERYTHING happened faster this go around.  My labor went SO quickly.  Gloria lost her little umbilical cord at 5 days, I took my first poop 3 days after! (yes, when you're a Mom, this is a big moment for you when your bowels finally return back to normal, so TOO BAD for you if you're grossed out by my comments!), AND my milk came in WAY WAY sooner ... like a week sooner.  My boobs have been RIDICULOUSLY engorged again and I have no problem with milk supply (fortunately).  Gloria doesn't really enjoy latching much, but I've just been pumping and putting it in a bottle so when Evan gets home, he can help feed.

I am so in love with this little girl.  Liliana is too!  Liliana has been in Dallas with family for the past few days and gets home tomorrow.  I CAN NOT wait to see her.  I've missed her SO very much and while she was gone, Evan repainted Liliana's room and I've spent some time reorganizing it.  It'll be a BIG GIRL room when she gets home! : )

Here's my life in pictures as of this last week ... and you know what?  I can't recall feeling this happy in a long time.  I am BEYOND happy with life.  With my complete little family.  With my two perfect girls.  With the most amazing, kind, loving, and sexy husband on this planet.  Life is not just good.  It's great.

 We had to get our bilirubin levels down earlier this week and I put her in the doorway so the sun would hit her and keep her warm.  I was making some etsy prints and when I looked again, I saw this!  Guess we need to buckle from day 1! : ) 

 Really?  How can this be comfortable?

 Liliana and Gloria meet for the first time at the hospital. 

This was probably one of the most ENDEARING moments of my life.  One I will never ever forget.

 yeah, this picture is going to be enlarged and put in our home somewhere.  

How can you not smile when you see it?

 My loves in one picture.

 Liliana loves reading to Gloria.  Gloria's not too interested yet, but soon and soon enough ...

 Like I said: life is good. No, it's great.

Liliana's 2nd Birthday Party (Part I)

Last Saturday we had Liliana's big "Liliana and friends!" birthday party!  It was SO much fun preparing, planning, and having the party.  The biggest bummer of it ALL is that Liliana wasn't feeling too well throughout the festivities.  She's already doing better and I called her daycare and they said she's doing quite well.  I think she just was EXHAUSTED from the travelling.  She stayed up until 10:30 two evenings in a row and that was just stupid of us to do to her ... the girl isn't even 2 yet.  That was a lot for her to handle.  At least she can look back on these pictures and see that Mommy did her best to make a FUN and happy party for her WONDERFUL baby girl!

I designed these prints myself (any theme can be done in the etsy shop!) and started sending my Mom lists of pink and red things to buy.  Those two colors kept the "theme" in mind which was a Dora and Elmo themed 2nd birthday party!

The night before, we started cooking.  On the agenda for the night were "estrella" shaped Dora brownies and the macaroni and cheese recipe that I posted about last week.

Fortunately I had some helpers (and I looked at my Dad with attitude as he critiqued!).  We all worked until about midnight so I am SO thankful for them!

The morning of the party we took all our decorations out and started forming a plan.  We had quite a few things to set up and knew it would take a few hours.  Fortunately, my helpers came back for more and with 6 of us, it took about 2.5 hours to transform the backyard in to a GORGEOUS

Pink and Red Delight!

The gift table was PACKED with goodies for Liliana.  These gifts are from ONE person: her godmother.  I think she's a WEE BIT in love with her girl! : )   The banner in the background was of things that Liliana loves at age 2.  It was probably one of my favorite designs for the party.  Here's an example of what a couple looked like:

To help get the red and pink theme going, my Mom bought about 20 lanterns and boy did we put them to get use ... Evan got on that ladder and created something SO special:

The table cloths and lanters are from party city.  I wanted the center pieces to be purely Elmo and Dora themed.  These were found from just about everywhere: grocery stores, party city, anywhere!

To help keep the kids entertained we had a "coloring station" (that I forgot to take pictures of), Dora tattoos, and a playhouse in the background.  We also had Pin the Nose on Elmo and forgot to use that too!  The party just went by too quickly! : )

I think that's enough pictures for today!  Tomorrow I'll finish it off with the YUMMY food and of course, some cute pictures of the birthday girl.  I can't believe she'll be 2 in one week! 



Missing Him Today, and Forever

On April 12th of every year, I always have my entire heart to lay out.  This year is no exception.

The pain of missing my brother so desparately that it hurts.  The pain of knowing that he would have met his nieces and nephews.  The pain of not seeing who he would have become. 

April 12th is, by far, my least favorite day of the year.

It's the day that my father told my brother and I "there has been a car accident.  Carlos didn't make it."

It's, I believe, the last time I saw my father cry.  It was, by far, the time I've seen my brother cry harder than I thought possible.  And it was the day that a little 7 year old girl realized her normal bubbly personality couldn't fix this situation.  It was the day my Mom felt more pain than I can imagine.  It was the day she saw her son die in her arms.

Nearly 20 years later, I can't think about this without breaking down in tears. And as I sit here, tears stream down my face, and I know there is absoultely nothing I can do other than cry. 

And the thing is, I think of Carlos every single day.  I literally thank God (or whatever being there is) every day for my parents and my brother, Danny.  For the family I do have.  Even on days that they frustrate me, I am so thankful for them because not everybody has both parents or a sibling. 

Throughout the day, I usually do a great job of staying strong at work.  Nobody has any clue that years ago, on this day, my brother was taken from us.  But the second I see Evan?  I know I will break down.  I always do the second he gives me a hug and says "I haven't stopped thinking about you today."

And sometimes he cries with me.  He never met Carlos, obviously (since I was 7) but he cries.  For us.  For his family.

He told me late last night that he thought of bringing me flowers today but then realized there was nothing he could do to make it better.  And he didn't want me to see those flowers every time I was in the kitchen and get more upset.  I told him the thought of it meant more than the flowers, and that I agreed.  I would have intentionally avoided that area of the home.  There's nothing you can give, other than a hug, a kiss, and love on a day like today.

God.  That's another topic that my mind is on alot at this time of year.  Religion is a topic I rarely talk about on this blog, or with anybody for that matter.  It's a very difficult topic for me because I can change my mind 180 degrees in the span of 5 minutes.  I know I'm blessed with so much, but it is also so difficult to understand why, if there is a God, he would put a family through something like this.

And I hate when people say "you weren't raised in a church, you poor thing."  Or when people say "your parents should believe in God more and this wouldn't have happened."

Those stupid ass comments are the ones that make me never want to go to church again. 

I don't judge people on their religion.  I want my children to grow up with loving, caring, nonjudgmental people and role models in their lives.  To be kind, to be honest, and to be loyal.  I don't care if that role model is religious or not. 

This year, I have probably felt the most "religious" that I have felt in over 10 years.  I don't know why.  Maybe because I've been blessed with wonderful children, etc., but I hate that I doubt when bad things happen.  I suppose I'm not strong enough to not doubt.  And sometimes, when I say doubt, that means I don't believe for years.  And this is just the way I'll be until I die.  This event, this DAY in my life, has made this so and if people judge me for it?  Let them.  I am done trying to change that component of my life.  I will never 100% know where I fall on this topic, and that is just going to have to be ok.

Carlos was a handsome, BRILLIANT (no seriously, he was that kind of scary brilliant.  IQ had him at genius level, not exaggerating) boy.  A boy that was so kind.  So curious.  So interesting.  So wonderful with his sister.

The day before Carlos went on his field trip with his classmates, he babysat me.  He didn't complain.  He LIKED babysitting his 7 year old sister.

And we played a game where he would put clues around the house until I found the "prize."  i don't even know what the prize was ... don't remember the reward.  Just remember the game.  Funny huh?

That night, I remember he hid the prize in the fridge.  There was a clue in the bench in the piano telling me to head to the fridge and I ran through the house laughing my head off wanting my prize.  And I remember him chasing after me, timing me, and screaming "come on Cristina!" 

Those memories.  I will never forget.  EVER.

Gloria's Nursery: Paint and ... Nicolas!

This weekend was BUSY!  Evan was off the entire time and I must admit we did a pretty horrid job at relaxing.  We were VERY productive doing things around the house that just needed to get done.  We cleaned up the backyard, attempted to fix our hot tub cover (the puppy kinda had his way with that one), installed a new latch on the gate going over the deck, had lunch with family, got the puppy some newer more chewable toys so that he wouldn't damage hot tub covers, had a fun lunch with great friends, talked with some of them about the baby shower they're apparently throwing me (which I was SHOCKED about because you don't usually get one for #2!) etc.

But two BIG things happened this weekend that aren't even listed above.  One of them, obviously WAY bigger than the other:

I became an aunt to a BOY yesterday night! ; )   My brother and his wife Annie gave birth to Nicolas Eduardo last night at 9:46.  He is the first boy grandkid for our side of the family so everyone is pretty excited.  He came FAST!  Annie got to the hospital around 7:30 and two hours later, there he was!  Makes me pretty scared for when I have Gloria!  Here is my handsome nephew:

Aren't newborns so darn huggable?

ANYWAY, the point of this post wasn't just to gush about him ... the other big thing that we did (and that ironically took more time than birthing the above cutie) was that we painted Gloria's nursery!

We've been meaning to do this for WEEKS and inevitably poor Evan had to go to work and kept getting paged.  But he turned his pager off on Friday night and knew he wouldn't turn it back on until 6 this morning, so we took advantage of the freedom and while her nursery looked like THIS less than a week ago...

This morning, it looked like THIS!

I am SO freakin in love with it!  Before you guys ask, the paint colors we chose are:

Robin's nest by Benjamin Moore for the walls and Tailor's Chalk by Martha Stewart for the trim.  For the trim we just got a ton of samples and matched them to the furniture as best we could. 

Paint wall color: Robin's Nest by Benjamin Moore.  # 618.



Trim: Tailor's Chalk by Martha Stewart.

Here are some more views.

I took this picture with the lights off just to show how neat this Ikea lamp looks when lit! It is the Knubbig lamp, was about $15, and looks SO pretty!

The most trying part of the painting experience was definitely the trim.  Nothing went wrong, but it just took a good long while.  We painted the closet doors and the bedroom door as well.  But let me tell you, it is SO worth the time and the $10 to do the trim.  I wish I had taken a before picture, but just trust me when I tell you that matching the trim to look best with the paint really makes it pop.  Unfortuantely for Evan, I am now obsessed with fixing the trim in other parts of the house, so we've added another something to the to-do list (well ... just in the master bedroom, guest bedroom, and Liliana's bedroom ... darn ... those are ALL the other bedrooms in the house! haha)

The next dilemma: how to arrange this darn room!  As you can see in this last picture, the bookcase was in a different spot.  That's our "to-do" this week and hopefully we'll figure out how to orient it.  I'll do another entire post on room layout though because that sure is a challenge!



15 Weeks Pregnant - T-shirt Project

Today I am 15 weeks pregnant with BITO.  This week, symptoms wise, has been GREAT.  I have felt really good, my belly isn't growing at the astronomical pace that it was doing previously, and we've just grown more and more excited to see if it is a boy or a girl!

We have the results of asking everyone whether they think it's a girl or boy.  Since we took the pictures, we've had more votes ... but I'll give the results in a bit.  For now, here is the 15 week T-shirt project.  I LOVE the picture with Liliana.  When we ask her where the baby is, she lifts up her shirt and points to her belly.  It's hilarious.

15 Weeks Pregnant Survey

How Far Along: 15 weeks today

Total Weight Gain: if I had to guess, it's about 2 to 2.5 pounds.  I haven't weighed myself in a while.  I will know next week when I go to the OB.

Stretch Marks: None.  I'm hoping that since I didn't get them with Liliana, I won't get them this go around!

Sleep:  Not great.  I fall asleep quickly but wake up often.  I also have STRANGE and VIVID dreams.

Miss Anything?: This week I didn't miss much!  I do miss wearing my contacts full time b/c the pregnancy has given me VERY dry eyes.  BUT this week that got a lot better and the opthamologist gave me the green light to wear the contacts a few hours here and there.  YAY.

Movement:  The last two days I didn't feel ANYTHING.  That had me quite worried although Evan assured me that since I was feeling movement so early if the baby moves just a little I could stop feeling movements.  While I listened to him, I only sorta did and still had my concerns, but I am glad to report that today I've felt quite a few already and those make me smile.

Food Cravings: CANTALOUPE!  The cantaloupe at the cafeteria at work is simply AMAZING.  I've also wanted banana pudding and haven't made it.  I need to get on that.

Food Aversions:  Anything messy looking still doesn't seem safe to me, like stew or chili.  I'm sure it also has to do with the fact that this winter in Little Rock has been incredibly mild.  I mean, the high is 70 degrees today!

Gender: WHO KNOWS!  We find out a week from today!  In fact, in exactly one week to the minute, we will probably know because our appointment is first thing in the morning.

Looking Forward To: Hmm ... not much.  HAHA! YEAH RIGHT!  Finding out if we're having a little girl or a handsome boy!  CAN'T WAIT! I was excited with Liliana, but for some reason, I KNEW it was a girl that time.  While I still think it is, I just want to know FOR SURE.  : )

Now for the results of the tallies.  When we took the picture, we hadn't received 5 extra votes that we got.  The FINAL tally came to:

BOYS: 29

GIRLS: 20

When we took these pictures, all the tallies weren't in, but Daddy still made his smug face and Mommy still made her "just you wait and see!" face!

Something to Look Forward To ...

Evan is on a really busy rotation this month.  In November, we got spoiled.  He had to be at the hospital at 7 most days and was usually home by 6. Sure we had our occasional 5 am calls and late nights, but he saw Liliana everyday but one that month.  That is a record for sure! 

Then December hit and BAM, back to the life we were accustomed to.

He didn't see Liliana a few days last week because he leaves EVERY SINGLE DAY at 4:30 and was getting home around 8.  During the week, Liliana goes to bed around 7:30 since I wake her up around 7 to head to work. 

On the days he doesn't see Liliana, my husband is a totally different person.  I try my absolute best to be positive for him.  I tell him all the new things that she's doing and take videos, but they're not the same.

Last week, Liliana was going through her teething bit and I must admit, it was a tough week at home.  I've been feeling under the weather with a really sore throat and painfully dry eyes.  Somehow, Liliana hasn't contracted this never-ending cold.  She has the world's best immune system I swear ... AND ... she wasn't breastfed, so take that people that made me feel bad about it!

So this weekend, I would be lying if I didn't say I was dreading the weekend.  Evan worked over 25 hours and was gone pretty much the entire time.  And I knew that dealing with a fussy baby while I was feeling sick was going to be really rough.

I tried to plan lots of things for Liliana and I to do.  For instance, we went to the Wonder Place (this BIG play space for kids 3 and under in Little Rock.  It is a heaven sent amazing place!), we went to a used toy store, we went to the mall, we bought new towels at TJMaxx, and we even stopped in at Target (no weekend would be complete without a Target run). 

And you know what?  We totally survived!  Liliana must have ended her teething stage around 10 o'clock on Saturday morning because the rest of the weekend she was her glorious normal happy self!  She didn't fuss or bother for 1 second, she was happily playing by herself when I needed a break, and she was just a complete and total breeze.  It's like she almost KNEW that Mommy didn't have 100% to give. 

To make things EVEN BETTER, when at the used toy store, we found EXACTLY what Santa was bringing Liliana.  We had bought it for $29 and here it was $6!!!!  I already returned the other one and Liliana obviously likes it just as much:

I live in a world of "I need to look forward to something."  And what is that?

This upcoming weekend, my husband isn't on call.  Sure, he'll probably have to go to the hospital (when does he not?) but he'll be home by noon AT THE LATEST both Saturday and Sunday.  We don't have much planned, intentionally.  We will relax.  We will watch movies.  We will sit in our new couches that we're going to pick up today (yipee!) and we will be a family.  And it will be fabulous.

Yes, I realize it's only Monday.  But sometimes, a girl just has to look forward to something.

Thanksgiving Desserts

The three of us are traveling home for Thanksgiving on Monday afternoon.  We're pretty darn excited.  This will be Evan's first vacation time in nearly 5 months.  He definitely deserves it. 

Since we're flying home, I obviously won't be in charge of bringing a big turkey. 

Instead ... I am the "Dessert gal."

That's right, I am completely in charge of desserts this Thanksgiving.  We have a pretty big number of people coming over for dinner and a big range of ages: 18 months (Liliana dearest) - grandpa (93!).  In other words, I have to make desserts that will please all pallets.

I've decided three desserts should be sufficient and don't want all of them to be too darn similar (in other words, no pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin cake please).  I also won't have that much of a time frame to work with because I have to share the kitchen with my Mom who makes about a trillion things throughout the day.  Enter pinterest.

My Thanksgiving Dessert Menu will consist of:

(1) Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats
(2) 4- layer Pumpkin Cake; AND
(3) Brownie Chocolate Pecan Pie

Behold:

(1) Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispite Treats:  These are th EASIEST to make.  Just go to Walmart and buy some Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows.

Then, put the marshmallows on top of all your melted butter...

And melt those, put in your rice krispies, and VOILA ...

As you can tell by the picture in the background, I made this as a Halloween dessert, but it works for Thanksgiving too!

(2) 4-layer Pumpkin Cake.  YUM.  LOOK:

This one isn't difficult to make, even though it looks complicated.  But it is scrumptious.

Recipe found here.

(3) Chocolate Brownie Pecan Pie

Out of all the recipes, this is the one I'm the most excited for.  I have a feeling people will be licking their fingers after eating some of this.  To make it even better, I am using FRESH pecans from Evan's grandpa's yard.  That will only make it even better!

Recipe found here.

Am I missing an essential item?  Should I include something else?  This holiday baking stuff is fun but kind of stressful at the same time!

For Christmas, I plan on making LOTS of fudge and cookies, but what am I doing??? We don't talk about Christmas until thanksgiving is done!  Hmm ... wonder what I'll be talking about on Friday? ; )

In the mean time, happy thanksgiving!

If you were my DVR ...

If you were my DVR, you would be pretty busy Monday - Wednesday, and slow on Thursdays.  I don't really watch anything on Thursdays (unless of course I'm missing something and a reader lets me know!)

If you were my DVR, you would know these are the five shows I simply can't live without (in no particular order, because that wouldn't be fair to make me do that):

(1) Sunday:  The Good Wife

- This is the ONLY legal show I watch.  I normally can't stand other ones, just like Evan can't stand Grey's Anatomy.  Sometimes being a lawyer or a doctor messes shows up for you.  But this show is so brilliantly done.  It is absolutley amazing: it's sultry, intelligent, thought provoking, and CLEVER.  They NEVER have a repeat legal case and ALWAYS make me go "how did they think of that?"

(2) Tuesday: Glee

- I know I join about 30 billion others when I say I enjoy this show.  I have to admit, they have had some episodes that I've felt really lackluster about.  Alternatively though, they have had some episodes where I am in amazement.  There have been about a handful of episodes that I watched twice ... in a row.  NO show has made me do that before.  That is why it is still on my top 5.  I do wish they'd do more popular songs.  I like seeing their interpretation of it.  I hate when they do songs that are boring or that I've never heard of before.  Also, I'm really in love with Artie.  His songs are THE BEST.  Mercedes voice is too loud for my taste and Santana has a good voice, but it doesn't compare to Rachel's.  Artie though?  He's my man!

(3) Wednesday: Modern Family

- This show absoultely CRACKS ME UP.  My favorite character is probably Gloria, or Mitch.  I love the humor in the show, the way they handle serious issues, and the delivery of everything.  It ALWAYS makes my Wednesday's better knowing I get to watch an episode.  The husband and I ALWAYS watch this one together and have a great time while doing it.  Even if he's working, I wait until some time when we're together.  It's one of those shows that you'll find yourself thinking about during the day and you'll randomly let out a chuckle thinking of a joke ... then everyone around you will think you're crazy.

(4) Wednesday: the New Girl

- This is a new show that stars Zooey Deschanel.  I'm not sure it would make my top 5 if it weren't for the fact that Evan DIES laughing when watching this show.  Hearing someone be THAT happy while watching a show makes you love it too.  According to Evan, the relationship between the guys on this show is just how guys act when they're together.  I think they act like morons, but funny morons!! ; )  If you don't have a big sense of humor, I don't recommend this one.  You have to be silly, be okay with crude humor, and be willing to just go with it.

(5) Monday: How I Met Your Mother

- This is one of those shows that you should follow from the beginning to truly enjoy it.  The characters are so well developed.  The stories can be serious, but are usually quite silly.  You grow to love the characters and rejoice in their happy moments and get truly angry with them when they mess up.  You also think it's hilarious when they have to wear a Duck Tie for a year.  I am getting SLIGHTLY annoyed that we still have no idea How Ted Met the Kids Mother, but I'm hoping they have a plan.  You can't have a 15 season show without letting me have SOME kind of idea!  The concept will get annoying if they're not careful, but so far, they're handling it really well.

Honorable Mention: Revenge/ Parenthood

-  these are good shows too, but not top 5 in my opinion.  Revenge is about a girl that moves to a town just to hurt those that conspired against her father and eventually let to his demise.  It's dark and the acting isn't always stupendous, but the story is at least interesting.  I can see how this would quickly become horrible if they make it too ridiculous with the story line.  So far they've been reasonable and kept you interested.  Parenthood can be boring to some.  It takes a while to get attached to the characters.  It's a very realistic show, which is probably why people don't like it.  THIS WEEK though, they have a character cheating on his wife and truthfully?  I might stop watching it because of that.  I know, I know it's only TV, but I don't even like SEEING it.  Plus (ready for stupid comment?) that character would NEVER cheat on his wife in real life!! They're doing it for ratings!! (done with my rant now)

What's on your DVR?  Am I missing some gems?